F 

/I 5 Nil 







pght]^'" . 

CDFVRIGUT DSPOSrr 




ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



A L B AN Y'S 



J^isitoric Street 



A Collection 
of some of the Historic Facts and 
Interesting Traditions relating to 

STATE STREET & Its 
Neighborhood 




Published 

In Commemoration of its 

Fiftieth Anniversary 

by 

The NATIONAL SAV^"^^ BANK 

of tfje Citp of ^Ibanp 

1918 



■As/VZf 



Copyright 1918 

BY 

THE NATIONAL SAVINGS BANK OF THE CITY OF ALBANY 




ENTRANCE TO OFFICES 
FIRST OCCUPIED BY THE B.MsTK 
Junel8b9 -Mm/- 1875 



Compiled, arranged and printed by direction of 

ff'aiton Advertising y Printing Company 

Boston, Mass. 



©CI.A507312 



QCT 23 m&'-^' 





jFore=l^orb 



A FIFTY years' survey of the banking history of America does not 
/\ take the reader into the early and most interesting era of institu- 

/ % tions for savings. Yet a period even as brief as fifty years may 
J. JL assume significance and dignity when measured by historic 
events and by decades of growth. Advances in the history of banking 
during this time have been rapid; and especially is this true of The 
National Savings Bank of the City of Albany, now passing its half- 
century mark. Because this bank took its place fifty years ago in the 
commercial history of Albany and because its home has these fifty 
years been in State Street, — the subject of this brochure, — a brief 
review of its growth and present condition may be of interest to those 
who wish to follow the story of one of the oldest of our American 
historic streets. 

The National Savings Bank of the City of Albany was incorporated 
May 6, 1868. The following year, on April 27, a meeting of the 
incorporators was held in the office of Erastus Corning. Mr. Corning 
was elected president at this meeting; and Daniel Manning was 
chosen a trustee to succeed James Edwards, who had died a short 
time after the bank was incorporated. The first trustees were Adam 
Van Allen, John Reynolds, John Tweddle, Rufus W. Peckham, 
Matthew H. Read, William H. Taylor, Erastus Corning, William 
A. Rice, Robert L. Banks, Albion Ransom, John H. Van Antwerp, 
Joseph Packard, Edwin W. Corning, Isaac Edwards, Benjamin A. 
Towner, John J. Conroy, and Daniel Manning. Under the auspices 
of these men, trusted, respected, prominent in business and in the 
professions, the bank opened its modest rooms at 57 State Street, 
nearly opposite the present banking house. The Argus of Monday 
morning, June 28, 1869, contains the following announcement: — 

" The National Savings Bank, — This bank, as will be seen by 
reference to our advertising columns, will go into operation to-day. 
The officers are: Hon. Erastus Corning, President; Adam Van Allen, 
Vice President; Albion Ransom, Second Vice President, and Albert 
P. Stevens, Secretary and Treasurer. These are names that guar- 
antee the financial soundness of the institution, and the tact and 
fidelity with which its affairs will be managed. All of the trustees 
are gentlemen of the highest character in this community. Among 
the many financial institutions of Albany, it is safe to predict that 
none stands higher in the estimation of our citizens than will the 
National Savings Bank. 

" The object of this bank is to pay to the depositors the entire earn- 
ings, after deducting necessary expense and, when practicable, a small 
surplus each year, to form a fund for additional security. The trustees 



FORE-WORD 



expect, by strict economy and skilful management, to be able to pay 
the depositors six per cent per annum. Such interest is earned in 
similar institutions in other cities, and there is no reason why de- 
positors may not derive equal advantages in Albany. Such an addi- 
tion to the interest receivable here will prove a vast benefit to the 
class of small depositors; and we therefore wish the new institution 
a long and prosperous career, and to promote that desirable end 
we unreservedly and cordially commend it to the confidence of our 
readers." 

Erastus Corning, who served the bank as president from 1869 to 
1872, and whose former home (now occupied by the Albany 
Club) still stands in State Street, was prominent in the public life 
of Albany. He served on the board of aldermen and also as mayor 
of the city. He was a member of the Peace Convention at Wash- 
ington in 1861. At the time of his death, in 1872, he was a regent of 
the University of the State of New York. John Henry Van Antwerp, 
one of the original incorporators and the last of this notable group 
of men to survive, succeeded Mr. Corning in office. Mr. Van Antwerp 
was a lineal descendant of that Daniel Janse Van Antwerp who came 
from Holland and settled in Beverwyck in 1661, and who became a 
prosperous fur-trader. Mr. Van Antwerp served his city and State 
in various capacities. He was influential in the creation of Wash- 
ington Park. For nearly thirty years he was President of the National 
Savings Bank, receiving in that time no remuneration for his services 
save, as his biographer states, "that priceless reward of a consciousness 
of duty well performed." Simon W. Rosendale, formerly Attorney- 
General of the State of New York, was the third president in office, 
predecessor of the present and fourth president, James Hilton Man- 
ning, a former mayor of Albany. 

The past history and the present history of the National Savings Bank 
are very closely associated. Albert Parsons Stevens, of New England 
birth, who had been instrumental in securing the charter for the bank, 
resigned the office of teller at the First National Bank, and was elected 
May 19, 1869, secretary and treasurer of the National Savings Bank. 
He served the bank in this capacity and as a trustee for forty-two 
years. His son, Frederic B. Stevens, entered the bank in 1888, and is at 
present treasurer and a member of the board of trustees, his period 
of service covering thirty years. 

Daniel Manning, one of the original incorporators and a member 
of the board of trustees, served on this board until other affairs 
claimed his undivided attention. Mr. Manning was Secretary of the 
Treasury during President Cleveland's first administration. A touching 
tribute was paid to Albany by Mr. Manning when, knowing that he 
had but a short time to live, he asked to be brought back to his 
birthplace, the city on the Hudson, — the river known by him so well 
in youth. His son, James Hilton Manning, has been connected with 
the bank for thirty-seven years. He has been president since 1904. 



FORE-WORD 



A singularly interesting honor-roll of long service is possessed by 
the National Savings Bank: — 

*Albert p. Stevens, secretary, treasurer, and trustee ... 42 years 

Simon W. Rosendale, president and trustee 40 

James H. Manning, president, vice-president, and trustee . 37 

*JoHN H. Van Antwerp, president and trustee .... 35 

Frederic B. Stevens, treasurer, secretary, and trustee . 30 

*Harry C. Cushman, trustee 26 

*Charles J. Buchanan, trustee 26 

Walter M. Woodward, trustee 23 

Thomas W. Larwood, book-keeper 26 

William M. Donovan, janitor 27 

With the rapid increase in business more space than that of the 
first small rooms was required; and in May, 1875, the National Sav- 
ings Bank moved into its second home at 59 State Street. Here it 
remained until the erection of the present splendid building at 70-72 
State Street in 1904. It is interesting to note that the site of the 
banking house was always considered an unfortunate location for 
any business, as practically everything started there failed; and it 
may be remembered that wise men shook their heads when the 
National Savings Bank selected the location. It is considered a 
happy omen that the first meeting held by the trustees in the new 
building occurred on April 19, 1904, the anniversary of the battle 
of Lexington. In its new home the bank has expanded along every 
line, and is better equipped every day to serve Its thousands of 
depositors. 

The reconstructive period of the National Savings Bank dates 
from 1904, for it was in that year that the bank, instead of rent, paid 
taxes; that is, prior to that time it was a tenant, then it became its 
own landlord. Changes, too, rapid, vital, significant, took place 
in the policy of the bank. Two reasons may be assigned for its 
present prosperous condition, — efficiency of management and the 
adequacy with which the institution has met the needs of the people, 
not only in Albany, but in counties nearby where savings-banks are 
not located. Owing to the needs of those living at a distance, the 
National Savings Bank established the banking-by-mail system, 
whereby it was able to extend to non-residents of Albany all of the 
facilities that the bank offers to those living in the city. A savings- 
system for school-children also was worked out, whereby the bank 
has been able not only to instil thrift among the younger depositors, 
but also has made friends that will retain its service for many years, 
many hundreds of boys and girls already looking upon the National 
Savings Bank as their banking home. 

Interested in making Albany one of the finest places in which to 
live and having in its upbuilding plan a sympathy gained by the fact 
that it has itself been a rent-payer, the National Savings Bank has 

* Deceased. 




SECOND BUILDING OCCUPIED BY THE BANK 



From a photograph 



enabled thousands to own their own homes. This has been accom- 
phshed by loaning funds for building purposes. The bank has grown 
by hard work, and to this may be attributed the fact that on its list 
of depositors are many thousands who are not spenders, but savers. 
In order constantly to meet the needs of those who began to practise 
thrift when the bank began to preach it many years ago, the bank 
has always been at work on ways and means whereby farther, more 
up-to-date, more commodious advantages may be placed at the dis- 
posal of its patrons. Two cases in point, of recent occurrence, may 
be cited to illustrate this idea, — the special plan developed by the 
bank during the recent Liberty Loan campaign and the system evolved 
for the sale of War Savings and Thrift Stamps. The bank plans 
always to be at the front in everything, — from the special facilities 
placed at the disposal of employees to the large issues that touch 
matters of wide influence. 

In the fullest sense of the word the National Savings Bank desires 
to be considered the people's bank, dedicated to the interests of its 
depositors. Its officers, James H. Manning, president, and Frederic 
B. Stevens, treasurer, are men of wide experience and known through- 
out the country. Mr. Manning, who was by a large majority twice 
elected mayor of Albany, has the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the 
National Guard of New York. He possesses one of the finest private 



FORE-WORD 



collections of manuscripts in this country, and the making of this col- 
lection has been for many years his pastime. He served two terms as 
president of the Savings Banks Association of the State of New York, 
and is a member of the New York State Council of Nine Bankers. 
Mr. Manning's authoritative volumes, Century of American Savi7igs 
Banks, are well known. 

Frederic B. Stevens, treasurer, has served as secretary of the 
Savings Banks Association of the State of New York, and his history 
of this association won for him a large place in banking circles. Both 
it and Century of American Savings Banks are of great value to stu- 
dents of banking. To such men, then, as these and to a just board 
of trustees, is given the disposition of the affairs of The National 
Savings Bank of the City of Albany, dedicated anew at the close of 
this half-century to the benefit of the people by whom it exists and 
for whom it begins another half-century of service. 



COMPLETE LIST OF OFFICERS 



PRESIDENTS 

ERASTUS CORNING April 27, 1869 

JOHN H. VAN ANTWERP May 7, 1872 

SIMON W. ROSENDALE Jan. IS, 1901 

JAMES H. MANNING Jan. 19, 1904 

FIRST VICE-PRESIDENTS 

ADAM VAN ALLEN April 27, 1869 

JOHN G. MYERS Sept. 16, 1884 

GARRET A. VAN ALLEN Jan. 21, 1902 

CHARLES GIBSON Sept. 20, 1909 

SECOND VICE-PRESIDENTS 

ALBION RANSOM April 27, 1869 

JOHN G. MYERS Jan. 15, 1884 

GARRET A. VAN ALLEN Sept. 16, 1884 

JAMES H. MANNING Jan. 21, 1902 

CHARLES GIBSON Jan. 19, 1904 

WALLACE N. HORTON Sept. 20, 1909 

EDWARD J. HUSSEY July 18, 1910 

SECRETARIES 

ALBERT P. STEVENS April 27, 1869 

FREDERIC B. STEVENS Jan. 17, 1905 

CHARLES J. BUCHANAN April 16, 1907 

EDGAR M. HAINES Jan. 8, 1916 

TREASURERS 

ALBERT P. STEVENS April 27, 1869 

EGBERT B. KING Feb. 15, 1905 

FREDERIC B. STEVENS Jan. 15, 1907 

xi 



FORE- WORD 



TRUSTEES of THE NATIONAL SAVINGS BANK of the 
CITY OF ALBANY 

ROBERT L. BANKS . 
ALBION RANSOM . . 
ADAM VAN ALLEN . 
JOHN H. REYNOLDS . 
JOHN TWEDDLE . . 
RUFUS W. PECKHAM . 
MATTHEW H. READ . 
WILLIAM H. TAYLOR 
ERASTUS CORNING . 
WILLIAM A. RICE . 
JOHN H. VAN ANTWERP 
JAMES EDWARDS . . 
JOSEPH PACKARD 
EDWIN W. CORNING 
ISAAC EDWARDS . . 
BENJAMIN A. TOWNER 
Rt. Rev. JOHN J. CONROY 
DANIEL MANNING . 
IRA JAGGER .... 
SIMON W. ROSENDALE 
JOSEPH SPORBORG . 
PAUL CUSHMAN . . 
GARRET A. VAN ALLEN 
JOHN WOODWARD . 
MICHAEL N. NOLAN . 
JAMES H. McCLURE . 
DANIEL L. VAN ANTWERP 
JOHN G. MYERS . . 
NATHAN B. PERRY . 
JAMES H. MANNING . 



868 


ROBERT L. FRYER . . 


1883 


868 


JAMES H. PRATT . . . 


1884 


868 


J. TOWNSEND LANSING . 


1884 


868 


WILLIAM GORHAM RICE 


1886 


868 


HORACE G. YOUNG . . 


1886 


868 


CHARLES J. BUCHANAN 


1890 


868 


HARRY C. CUSHMAN . 


1892 


868 


ALBERT VANDERVEER 


. 1895 


868 


WALTER M. WOODWARD 


1895 


868 


CHARLES GIBSON . . . 


1897 


868 


WALLACE N. HORTON . 


1897 


868 


H. KING STURDEE . . 


1902 


868 


ALBERT P. STEVENS . 


1903 


868 


ANDREW S. DRAPER . 


1907 


868 


JAMES B. McEWAN . . 


1908 


868 


EDWARD J. HUSSEY . . 


1908 


868 


JAA/IES F. MAAS . . . 


1909 


868 


JOHN N. HUYCK . . . 


1909 


872 


SYDNEY T. JONES . . 


1910 


872 


CHARLES M. STUART . 


1910 


873 


THOMAS A. HORTON . . 


1910 


874 


CHARLES I. OLIVER . . 


1911 


874 


EDWIN L. DRAPER . . 


1911 


875 


FREDERIC B. STEVENS. 


1911 


875 


EDGAR M. HAINES . . 


1912 


875 


JONAS MUHLFELDER . 


1914 


879 


FRANK SHERMAN . . 


1914 


879 


JAMES C. FARRELL . . 


1915 


879 


JOHN ALLEN JAMISON, Jr. 


1916 


881 







PRESENT OFFICERS 

President 

JAA'IES H. MANNING 

Vice-Presidents 

CHARLES GIBSON 

EDWARD J. HUSSEY 

Treasurer 
FREDERIC B. STEVENS 



PRESENT TRUSTEES 



JAMES H. 
WALTER M. WOODWARD 
CHARLES GIBSON 
EDWARD J. HUSSEY 
JAMES F. MAAS 
SYDNEY T. JONES 
CHARLES M. STUART 
THOMAS A. HORTON 

EDGAR M. HAINES, 



MANNING 

EDWIN L. DRAPER 
FREDERIC B. STEVENS 
EDGAR M. HAINES 
JONAS MUHLFELDER 
FRANK SHERMAN 
JAMES C. FARRELL 
JOHN A. JAMISON, Jr. 
Secretary of the Board 




PRESENT BANK BUILDING 



From a photograph 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The Annals of Albany, Joel Munsell. 

Collections on the History of Albany from its Discovery to the Present Time, with 

Notices of Public Institutions and Biographical Sketches of Citizens Deceased, 

Joel Munsell, editor. 
Men and Things in Albany Two Centuries Ago, Joel Munsell. 
Contributions for the Genealogies of the First Settlers of Albany from i6jo-i8oo, 

Jonathan Pearson. 
Early Records of the City and County of Albany and Colony of Rensselaerwyck. 

Translated from the original Dutch by Jonathan Pearson. Revised and edited by 

A. J. F. Van Laer, archivist. 
The Documentary History of the State of New York. Arranged under direction of the 

Hon. Christopher Morgan by E. B. O'Callaghan. 

Random Recollections of Albany from 1800 to 1808, Gorham A. Worth. 

Bi-centennial History of Albany: History of the County of Albany, New York, from 
1609 to 18S6, George R. Howell and Jonathan Tenney. Assisted by local writers. 

Landmarks of Albany County, New York. Edited by Amasa J. Parker. 

Albany Chronicles. A History of the City arranged Chronologically from the Earliest 

Settlement to the Present Time. 
Albany Bi-centennial: Historical Memoirs, A. Bleeker Banks. 

The History of the City of Albany, New York, from the Discovery of the Great River 
in 1524 by Ferrazzano to the Present Time, Arthur James Weise, M.A. 

Reminiscences of the City of Albany, James Eights, M.D. 

The Settlement and Early History of Albany, William Barnes. 

Albany and its Place in the History of the United States, Berthold Fernow. 

The Albany Hand-book. Compiled by H. P. Phelps. 

Players of a Century: A Record of the Albany Stage, including Notices of Prominent 
Actors who have appeared in America, H. P. Phelps. 

Reminiscences of Troy from its Settlement in 1790 to 1807, with Remarks on its Com- 
merce, Enterprise, Improvements, State of Political Parties and Sketches of 
hidividual Character, John Woodworth. 

Albany Illustrated. Published in twelve parts b)^ H. R. Page & Company. 

Our Ancient Landmarks: A Sermon delivered in St. Paul's Church, Albany, on the 
Bi-centennial Commemoration of the City's Charter, Rev. Maunsell Van Rens- 
selaer, D.D., LL.D. 

A History of Saint Peter's Church in the City of Albany, Rev. Joseph Hooper, M.A. 

IFith an Introduction and Description of the Present Edifice and its Memorials 

by the Rev. Walton W. Battershall, D.D. 
The Dutch and Quaker Colonies in America, John Fiske. 
Historical Collections of the State of New York, containing a General Collection of the 

Most Interesting Facts and Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, etc., 

relating to its History and Antiquities, with Geographical Description of Every 

Township in the State, John W. Barber and Henry Howe. 

Pictorial History of the State of New York, J. W. Barber. 

Colonial New York: Philip Schuyler, George W. Schuyler. 

The Sexagenary, or Reminiscences of the American Revolution, John P. Becker. 
Edited by S. De Witt Bloodgood. 

The Centennial Celebration of the State of New York, prepared pursuant to a Concur- 
rent Resolution of the Legislature, 1878, and Chapter 391 of the Laws of 1879, 
Allen C. Beach. 

xiv 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



New Amsterdam and its People, J. H. Innes. 

Colonial Days in Old New York, Alice Morse Earle. 

Historic Towns of the Middle States. Edited by Lyman P. Powell. The chapter on 
Albany is by Walton W. Battershall. 

The Picturesque Hudson, Clifton Johnson. ( 

The Hudson River from Ocean to Source, Historical, Legendary, Picturesque, Edgar 
Mayhew Bacon. 

Memoirs of an American Lady, with Sketches of Manners and Scenes in America as 
they existed Previous to the Revolution, Mrs. Anne Grant. 

A Godchild of Washington: A Picture of the Past, Katharine Schuyler Baxter. 

A Legacy of Historical Gleanings. Compiled and arranged by Mrs. Catharina V. R. 
Bonney. 

Memoirs of Aaron Burr, with Miscellaneous Selections from his Correspondence, 
Matthew L. Davis. 

The Life and Times of Aaron Burr, Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army of the Revolu- 
tion, United States Senator, Vice-President of the United States, etc., James 
Parton. 

American Statesmen: Martin Van Buren, Edward M. Shepard. 

Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan. 

Life of U. S. Grant, Hon. Ben. Perley Poore and Rev. 0. H. Tiffany, D.D. 

Century of American Savings Banks, James Hilton Manning. 

History of the Savings Banks Association of the State of New York, 18Q4-IQ14, 
Frederic B. Stevens. 

Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association. 

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, the Argus, the Albany Evening 
Journal, the Knickerbocker Press, the Times-Union, Harper's Magazine, Niles' 
Weekly Register, the New-England Historical and Genealogical Register. 




THE OLD ELM TREE 
Belore its Demolition in 1877 

Collection of James II . Manning 




Holding the scales reproduced 

on this page in her left hand, Justice 

for many years presided over the Old 

Capitol at Albany. So far as is known, this 

section of the scales is the only part of the historic 

symbol now in existence. The vignette on the title-page 

is a reproduction of what is probably the oldest weathercock in 

America. Since the eariy days this chanticleer pierced by 

Indian bullets has witnessed the growth of Albany. 

It formerly stood on the early Dutch Church 

on State Street, and it now ornaments 

the tower of the Dutch Reformed 

Church on Madison Avenue 





^Itianp's; J|is;toric Street 

ROM wigwams bordering the Indian trail that in a few 
decades was to be quaint Yonkers Street of the early 
days and State Street of to-day, on a calm afternoon in 
September, 1609, curled blue-gray smoke that mingled 
with the fragrance of the forest. Autumn with master 
strokes had already painted brown, red, and yellow 
the foliage of oak and maple, and a certain crispness in the air fore- 
casted winter. Silence reigned along the borders of the primitive 
highway, until suddenly a signal was given that a strange vessel was 
sailing up the great stream skirting the forest. With swift tread the 
moccasined dwellers of the forest hastened to the river-bank, where 
they watched the approach of the Half-Moon that bore Henry Hudson. 
As it drew nearer, the Indians clambered into some threescore canoes, 
and pushed off in the direction of the strange craft. It was mostly 
food — beans and oysters — they gave their guests, and in exchange the 
redmen eagerly accepted the trinkets given them by the crew and 
master of the Half-Moon. Such was Master Henry Hudson's visit to 
the river that bears his name, and such was his greeting by the In- 
dians, — forerunner maybe of the bond of brotherhood that perpetually 
kept for Albany the friendship of the Five Nations, and preserved it 
from Indian attacks. 

On an island below Albany a stockaded trading-post was estab- 
lished, five years after Hudson's memorable voyage and two years 
after the noted discoverer was buried beneath the waters of Hudson 
Bay. A prosperous trade in furs was begun and carried on for more 
than a century, until the canny beaver, unmindful of the many Ameri- 
can fortunes founded by him, forsook his native haunts and led his 
vanishing race to other streams and forests. The gods of the beavers 
may have interceded on their behalf when, at the breaking up of the 
ice one spring, the temporary trading-post, like that of the French 
established late in the sixteenth century, was swept away. But the 
persistence of the traders eventually won; for the Dutch West India 
Company, impressed by the reports brought back of the riches of the 
country, sent in 1623 a few men of Holland to collect pelts and furs 
from the Indians. They built huts and a crude fort, about fifty feet 
east of the bend in Broadway, at Steamboat Square. 

1 



Primiti'je 
State 
Street 
in the 
autumn 
nf i6og 



The 

coining of 
Master 
Henry 
Hudson 



Trade 

in furs 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Jn early- 
scene in 
State Street 



What a 
pearl- 
merchant of 
Amsterdam 

bough t 



Budding 

of the 

Dutch 

church 

and the 

dominie's 

house 

Arrival of 

the third 

patroon 

hicrease 
in the fur- 
trade 

The 

coming 

of Peter 

Stuyvesant 



The Dutcii 

church oi 

1656 



Undoubtedly among the earliest scenes witnessed by State Street, 
when it was a narrow path, was that of an Indian, laden with furs, 
threading his way to the trading-post. Five years after the coming 
• of the traders, an Amsterdam authority says, "There are no families 
at Fort Orange: . . . they keep five and six and twenty persons, 
traders, there." This was Albany's first census, and State Street, 
which was to play such an important part in this second chartered 
city in America, was still an Indian trail, bordered on either side by a 
deep forest, through which maybe the Indian, as he came to the fort 
with furs, might with his keen eye discern eastward the sparkle 
of the waters of the Hudson River. Maybe, as he caught the gleam, he 
hastened toward the huts of the white man, where for a bottle of rum 
or a handful of trinkets he bartered his valuable load. 

The colonists sent out in 1630 by Patroon Herr Killian Van Rens- 
selaer, pearl-merchant of Amsterdam, whose representative was his 
nephew, Wouter Van Twiller, built their houses near the fort, and 
named the village Rensselaerwyck. The grant made to the patroon 
was forty-eight miles broad and twenty-four miles long on both sides 
of the Hudson River. Thus passed the forest of the Indians, and the 
trail leading to the trading-post and the fort. The claim to the latter 
made by the patroon brought about a sharp controversy between Van 
Twiller and the West India Company. Thirteen years after the grant 
to Patroon Van Rensselaer, the first Dutch church, under the direc- 
tion of Dominie Johannes Megapolensis, was built near the fort. The 
dominie's house was erected south of the church. 

Jan Baptiste Van Rensselaer, the first of the family to reach Amer- 
ica, arrived in 1651, and the following year became patroon of the 
manor. He eventually returned to Holland. When the third of the 
patroons arrived, the people of the colony found it a decided novelty 
to have the lord of the manor permanently among them. In the mean 
time the trade in furs was constantly increasing, the number exported 
shortly after the arrival of the third patroon of Rensselaerwyck being 
57,640 beaver and 300 otter. 

Director-General Peter Stuyvesant, who had previously visited the 
settlement, came to it in 1652 as a representative of the Dutch West 
India Company, and in honor of the immortal beaver named the 
colony Beverwyck. With his usual decision and keenness for reform, 
he stamped about on his wooden leg, and, after condemning the houses 
around the old fort, granted on April 23 lots on the south side of State 
Street between Pearl Street and Broadway. It is said that, after thus 
summarily bidding the inhabitants depart from the vicinity of the 
fort and pronouncing their houses not fit for pigs to root in, Stuyve- 
sant planted a cannon at Fort Orange, from which he fired a ball north 
and another south, and declared the territory included within the 
space covered by the balls the bounds of future Albany. Four years 
later, in 1656, the Dutch church was built on what was then Yonkers 
and Handlers Streets, now State Street and Broadway. Many times 




er 



Collection of James Jl. MaiDiing 

A VIEW OF THE LATE PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH IN THE CITY OF ALBANY 

This venerable edifice was situated at the junction of State, Market, and Court Streets. It was 
erected a.d. 1715 and pulled down a.d. 1806. It included within its walls the site of a 
church the corner-stone whereof was laid by Rutger Jacobsen a.d. 1656 

have this ancient edifice and its worthy successor of 1715 been pic- 
tured. The early Dutch church had the advantage of protection from 
the guns of Fort Orange; but this State Street edifice was some distance 
north of the old site, and so had to devise its own means of preservation 
in case of attack. Its windows were built high from the ground, and 
the men who came to worship went armed to service. The next Dutch 
church was built in 1715 around the old edifice, and was of stone. So 
cleverly was the plan of construction carried out that only for three 
Sabbaths was worship discontinued. 

It is an interesting fact that the oldest relic of these early days of the 
Dutch in Albany is a weathercock of beaten brass, pierced by three 
bullets. This bold chanticleer formerly stood on the little old Dutch 
church in State Street, and to-day he presides over the destinies of the 
city from the tower of the Dutch Reformed Church on Madison Ave- 
nue. Save for the fifty years spent by the weathercock in the Van 
Rensselaer vault, he has braved the storms that have swept over the 
city, and from his elevated perch has watched the little Dutch settle- 
ment grow from a primitive colony in the wilderness to the bustling 
city of to-day. His history is fully as interesting as that of the vicissi- 



,/ bold 
hanticleer 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 

The lay tudes he has weathered and the expansion he has witnessed. It was the 
relic u year when the Dutch church was built that a company of burghers de- 
theUiiti cided that a weather-vane was needed to ornament the tower of their 
new edifice. Undoubtedly, the Rev. Gideon Schaats, who came from 
Amsterdam as clergyman for the colony, was instrumental in procur- 
ing the chanticleer; and the bird arrived probably with the pulpit and 
the bell, and each lent its share of romance to the church in State 
Street. 
AqiiL In the early Dutch church (1715) was a queer old stove on a plat- 

stove ar form SO high that the sexton had to climb into the gallery to build fires. 
anoi:! Qj^ ^j^g qJj pulpit there was a shelf on which the minister solemnly 
■^ placed the hour-glass. There was a bell-rope that gave no end of 
CorneUu trouble to poor old Cornelius Van Schaack. Many a tale is told of this 
^ "' ancient sexton, who was frequently summoned at most uncertain hours 
Schaai fj-om his home in North Pearl Street, above Maiden Lane. On one 
occasion in particular the bell rang furiously. "More boys' pranks!" 
grumbled the sexton, as he angrily seized his lantern and hat and hur- 
ried to the church. He passed the burial-ground that surrounded the 
Agho.' edifice — in safety. It is said that, when he opened the church-door, a 
sto-y strange sepulchral sound greeted him, and that, when he gathered 
enough courage to step forward a bit, he caught sight of a monstrous 
figure in white. Another awe-inspiring sound echoed through the 
church. The sexton fled. On the following morning, "old aunty some- 
body's cow" was missing, and was eventually found tied to the bell- 
rope of the church. About her were wisps of hay, remnants of a feast 
she had consumed the preceding night while restlessly shaking her head 
and ringing the bell, to the consternation of Cornelius Van Schaack 
and the delight of the boys who planned the joke. The story, though 
old, has a decidedly modern and very college-like flavor. Still, it may 
be true, and the natural parent of similar stories in the annals of many 
a school. 
Remoz The Old Dutch Church was removed in 1806. During its existence it 

of the 0^,- }^2^ witnessed stirring scenes between the Dutch and the Indians, 
Chun wherein binding treaties were made; and some of the treaties were 
agreed on within the very walls of this historic edifice. It watched the 
fervor that attended the Congress of 1756 and the assemblies that pre- 
ceded the Revolution. It witnessed the camping in September, 1775, of 
two thousand troops, when they took up their winter quarters in 
Albany. It felt the shock of war. It gazed upon the scenes that fol- 
lowed the war, when the soldiers came home and peace was declared. 
Nobly it played its part in the history of the city, and lent to the early 
days a picturesque touch that can never be forgotten. 
The first In the same ship that brought the church bell and pulpit there ar- 
brickhous,' rived a load of bricks intended for the use of the parsonage of the Rev. 

I'll-' , . 

oiiur 1 Q[(^QQ^ Schaats, pastor of the Dutch church. His house — said to be 
the first brick edifice erected in America — was built, in 1657, on what 
is now the northeast corner of State and North Pearl Streets. The 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



house stood until 1832, and was longest occupied by Balthazar Lydius, 
an eccentric bachelor of Dutch extraction, who, after playing for some 
years the part of lion about town, retreated to the solitude of his 
mansion; and, after having securely wedded himself to a pipe and 
a bottle, he purchased, it is said, for a pint of gin a squaw, whom 
he ensconced in the Lydius residence. Scarcely anything has been 
recorded concerning the interior of the house, which in its heyday 
must have rivalled in dignity the famous Vanderhuyden Palace, so 
much admired by Washington Irving. It has been said that the 
partitions in the house were of mahogany, highly ornamented with 
carvings representing the vine and fruit of the grape. Mr. Lydius, 
whose paternal ancestor, the Rev. John Lydius, came to Albany in 
1703, was the last of his family. He was a tall, thin, unapproachable 
man, but of such considerable property that he had to be reckoned 
with in the financial census of the city. In speaking of the mansion 
and its eccentric occupant, one who remembers him says: "Inde- 
pendent, honest and gruff as a bear, he occupied at the commence- 
ment of the present century the old and somewhat mysterious- 
looking mansion, then standing at the northeast corner of North 
Pearl and State Streets; and was of course next-door neighbor in 
a westerly line to the old elm-tree.* The house exhibited in its 
style and order the taste, if not the pride, of its proprietor. Its position 
admitted of two front gables, and tzvo front gables it had, thus rival- 
ling, if not excelling, in architectural beauty the celebrated mansion of 
the Vanderhuyden family. One front rested on Pearl, and the other 
on State. Each had its full complement of outside decorative adjuncts — 
namely, long spouts from the eaves, little benches at the doors, iron 
figures on the wall, and a rooster on the gable head. How the inside 
was contrived, nobody knew. The only inhabitants, or at least the 
only ones my curiosity could ever discover, were the dark and indomi- 
table proprietor, and an old, unmutilated, pale-faced, melancholy- 
looking cat. Nor were these visible to any human eye except at par- 
ticular hours, or under peculiar circumstances. 

"At the dusky hour of eve, or in the misty gray of the morning, the 
head, or what was taken to be the head of the old man, was sometimes 
seen peering out of the narrow window in the southern front; while 
the low, complaining voice of the other inhabitant, when darkness fell, 
might be distinctly heard from the turret of the western wing. No door 
was ever seen to open — the Pearl Street door having been reserved for 
the egress of the dead — no twinkling light gave sign of life within." 

It may have been through the Pearl Street door in 1815 that the re- 
mains of Balthazar Lydius, the last of an old family, were borne to the 
burial-ground of the Old Dutch Church, probably the longest journey 
he had made in years. 

A decade before the building of the Old Dutch Church and the 
Lydius house in State Street, Anneke Janse Bogardus (her husband, 

* See opposite Page One. 

5 



"Bait." 

Lydius 

retreats 

to the 

solitude 

of his 

mansion 



"Independ- 
ent, honest 
and gruff 
as a bear'' 



i'he last 
journey of 
Balthazar 
I.xdius 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Thr 
Bogardus 

JwiUi 



"The 

Duke's 

farm'' 

to-day 

■worth 

millions 



The Staats 

house 

and the 

Lewis 

Tavern 



Birthplace 
of Philip 
Schuyler 



the Rev. Evardus Bogardus, having died) returned to Albany, and 
resided at the northeast corner of State and James Streets, where now 
is located the Mechanics and Farmers Bank. It is not definitely known 
when the Bogardus home was built on this site. Anneke has been a 
prominent figure in New York history. She was among the first of 
the Dutch to settle in the manor of Rensselaerwyck, arriving in 1630 
with her husband, Roeloflf Jansen Van Maesterlandt, who was in the 
employ of Patroon Van Rensselaer at the yearly salary of seventy- 
two dollars. Later the family moved to New Amsterdam, where in 
1636 for 31 morgens a grant of sixty-two acres along the North River 
was given them. Anneke after the death of her first husband married 
the Rev. Evardus Bogardus. To her children she deeded " the Duke's 
Farm," as the New York property now owned by Trinity Church was 
then called. The will was made in the Bogardus house. State Street, 
Albany, on January 29, 1663. Considerable litigation concerning the 
property followed. The controversy lasted many years, and was the 
subject of more than a hundred books. The heirs of Anneke deeded 
"The Duke's Farm" in 1671 to Lieutenant-Governor Lovelace. The 
property to-day is said to be worth millions; and it has been estimated 
that, if it were recovered by the descendants of Anneke Bogardus and 
evenly distributed among them, each would receive about four dollars. 

Another interesting historic house in early State Street was the Staats 
house, and the famous Lewis Tavern adjoining it. The building was 
really a double house, built in 1667, a little more than a decade after 
the erection of the Old Dutch Church. Historically, the site is one of 
the most important in the city. Originally, this lot, now occupied by 
the Albany County Savings Bank, at the southeast corner of State and 
South Pearl Streets, was granted to one Cornells Steenwyck, who, it is 
claimed, transferred the property to Colonel Philip Pieterse Schuyler, 
the ancestor of the Schuylers in America. The double house erected 
on the site was built of bricks brought from Holland, and an Interesting 
feature of the building was the "Anno Domini 1667" that extended 
across the gable end. After the demolition of the western half in order 
to widen Pearl Street, the eastern half still retained the "Anno" and in 
fact the date, until the owner, fancying that the ancient year so boldly 
carved on his property was detrimental to its rental, had the figures 
removed. 

Colonel Schuyler left his property to his youngest son, Johannes, who 
used the double house as a residence. This son was a rich fur-trader 
in the city, and eventually became mayor of Albany. On his death 
his son, Johannes, Jr., took up his residence there; and his son. Gen- 
eral Philip Schuyler, was born in the house on November 11, 1735. 
This was Madam Schuyler's city residence, and here she lived while 
her house at the Flats was being rebuilt. Madam Schuyler will be 
remembered as the "American Lady " of Mrs. Grant's Memoirs. The 
house during the time of her occupancy is said to have been elaborately 
furnished. The property came into the possession of the Staats family 
about 1777. 

6 




Collection of James H. Manning 
MADAM SCHUYLER'S CITY RESIDENCE 

In this old house was born General Philip Schuyler. It stood until its demolition in 1887 at 

the southeast corner of State and South Pearl Streets, and was originally a part of a 

double house built of bricks brought from Holland 

The site is now occupied by the Albany County Savings Bank 



Robert Lewis, who was one of the Yankees who came to New York Openini. 
after the Revolution, opened a tavern in half of this double house; and °/^"f 
his hostelry was the best-known and most generally patronized until f^vfrn 
the opening of the Tontine Coffee House. Here were received the pub- 
lic guests of the day. A dinner was given here in July, 1786, in com- 
memoration of the hundredth anniversary of the signing of the charter 
of the city. The Bank of Albany, which existed until 1861, was in- 
corporated in February, 1792, at Lewis's Tavern. Here in 1784 a 
great dinner was given to Governor George Clinton and Heere P. J. 
Van Berkel, the Dutch ambassador. It was at this tavern in 1784 
that " a likely negro wench," owned by Mrs. Alargaret Schuyler, was 
offered for sale. The hum of life around the famous hostelry was in- 
creased by the coming and going of stage-coaches that had their start- 
ing-point at the tavern. Robert Lewis, the original proprietor of the 
tavern, continued his business until his death in 1798, when his son, 
Stewart Lewis, succeeded him. The tavern was kept by him until 
plans were made to widen South Pearl Street, which up to this time 
had been known as Washington Street, and was a lane twelve feet 
wide, entered by a gate. The building was torn down, and Lewis re- 




CnUcdioii of James H. Manning 
ELM TREE CORNER ABOUT 1848 

On this northwest corner of State and North Pearl Streets stood the Livingston House and the 
famous elm-tree planted near it by Philip Livingston, a signer of the Declaration of 
Independence. On this corner the Websters printed their famous spelling- 
book and almanac. Old Tweddle Hall at one time occupied the corner 
Hotel Ten Eyck is now on the site 



moved to 76 State Street, then described as being " opposite the State 
Bank." He died in 1829, and was buried from 76 State Street. His 
successors were the Misses Lewis, who opened a boarding-house. The 
last of his descendants was his daughter, Juliet, who died in September, 
1854, at the age of seventy-five. 

In December, 1887, the Albany County Bank bought the old Staats 
house, and the work of demolition was at once begun. The house 
was probably the oldest building in Albany. Crowds came to watch the 
landmark disappear, and it is said that every family in the city carried 
home one of the historic bricks of which the old Staats house had been 
built. 

The Livingston house, once on a nearby corner, is fully as interest- 
Lmingston Jng from an historic point of view as the Staats house. Robert Liv- 
housf jngs^Qn^ a Scotchman, in the fall of 1674 came to Albany, and bought 
a lot at the northwest corner of Pearl and Yonkers (now State) Streets. 
There he lived until he removed to his manor-house, some forty miles 
down the river. For some time Mr. Livingston acted as clerk of the Al- 
bany court. His son, Philip Livingston, one of the signers of the Decla- 
ration of Independence, planted in 1735 an elm-tree, from which for 



Demolition 

of Staats 

house 



The 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 

many years the corner received its name. For nearly a century the old 
tree remained, a loved object, the memory of which many Albanians hold 
dear. It was the rendezvous for lovers, the chatting-place for those who 
met casually while on shopping and business trips. Its friendly shade 
was sought by all. It had its darker history as well ; for in the early days 
slaves were tied to a ring driven into the trunk, and whipped. It has 
a happier and more interesting history, for it was a witness of the set- 
ting-up of the first printing-press in Albany, when the Websters be- 
gan business on this corner and issued their famous spelling-book and 
almanac. Here also was the Albany Gazette, the first newspaper 
published in the city. 

Old Tweddle Hall was built in 1860 on the site of the Livingston 
house, near the old elm-tree; and here many of the leading singers and 
speakers of the day were heard, among them Parepa Rosa, who sang 
in the hall, June 15, 1870. The old elm-tree succumbed to the march 
of progress, for on account of repaving the streets it had to be removed. 
On the night of June IS, 1877, it was cut down. During the process of 
demolition, when many by the light of lanterns gathered to watch the 
work, the ring to which the slaves were tied for whipping was found 
embedded in the heart of the old tree. Tweddle Hall was burned in 
1883, and shortly afterward a new Tweddle Hall was erected, which 
stood on the site now occupied by the Hotel Ten Eyck. 

This corner, so famous in the history of Albany, has been celebrated 
in verse by a local writer, who, mindful of the many facts concerning 
the famous Livingston house and the equally famous elm-tree, has 
given his verses a humorous slant. It must be remembered that State 
Street at this particular point is quite steep. 

It don't appear that the Old Elm Tree 

Is a slippery elm, you know; 
But nevertheless it will doubtless be 

Set down in the records so. 

When the snow congeals on the slanting grade, 

Where the Elm Tree went to rot, 
And scores of broken heads have made 

Their mark on the sacred spot, 

That place of broken skulls will be, 

By many a frantic mourner, 
Set down in the town geography 

As the "Slippery Elm Tree Corner." 




I'hllip 
Livingston, 
a signer 
of the 

Declaration of 
Independence, 
plants the 
nldrlm- 



TzveddU 
Hall 



Old 

rhn-tree 
cut down 



In the possession of Mr. James U. Manning 
LOGS FROM THE OLD ELM TREE 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Erection 

of Fort 

Frederic 



Schenectady 
massacre 

S\7non 
Schenner- 
horn's ridr 



Albany 

chartered 

a citv in 

1686 



Early 
plans of 
Albany 



The Old 
Stadt Hiiys 



A year after the erection of the Livingston house, State Street (then 
Yonkers) was further laid out by the erection of a fort, from which an 
excellent view was obtained of the rapidly growing settlement. Fort 
Frederic, supposed to have been named in honor of the house of Han- 
over, or, as it was sometimes called, " the fortress of the crown," was 
built in State Street, south of and occupying a part of the position now 
held by St. Peter's Church. It was built by order of Governor Andros, 
to protect the settlement from invasion by any roving tribes. Each 
of the four bastions held six guns, and Ensign Silvester Salisbury was 
placed in command. The old fort stood until the city authorities or- 
dered its demolition in the spring of 1784. The stone was used for 
various improvements, some of it being appropriated for building pur- 
poses by the officers of various churches. 

Fifteen years after the erection of Fort Frederic in State Street 
occurred the Schenectady massacre. Probably the fort was the desti- 
nation of Symon Schermerhorn, who, wounded and blood-smeared, 
dashed through the northeast gate of the city on a bitter morning in 
February, 1690, in order to arouse the people and announce to the 
guard that the French and Indians had murdered " ye people of Skin- 
nechtady ! " On learning of the disastrous event, the number of soldiers 
at the fort was doubled, and every precaution taken to defend Albany. 
Troops were also despatched to aid the stricken inhabitants of the 
Mohawk Valley. Albany in this year 1690 had been a city for four 
years, the charter having been granted by Governor Dongan in 1686, 
when, in addition to a number of other petitions, the people of Albany 
asked that the governor set apart for the use of the inhabitants the 
Stadt Huys, or City Hall, the Dutch Reformed Church, the graveyard 
near the palisades in the southern part of the settlement, and also the 
watch-house. The early plans of Albany give a very good idea of the 
place a little more than a decade before and also a decade after the 
town became a city. The earliest of these plans was made about 1670, 
and shows the city gates and the streets that are now Broadway, State, 
and Maiden Lane. The plan of Albany made by the Rev. John Miller 
in 1695 gives an excellent idea of State Street, and shows the fort, the 
Dutch church, the Stadt Huys, also the stockades and city gates. Out- 
side of the palisades encamped the Indians who brought furs, as they 
were not permitted to remain in the city for any length of time after 
they had sold their loads. 

Historically, the most important building of Albany was the Old 
Stadt Huys, or City Hall, built in 1705, and located at the northeast 
corner of Broadway and Hudson Avenue, one block from State Street. 
This building was the successor of the first Stadt Huys, located near 
Fort Orange, where were held many of the Indian conventions, the 
most notable of these being the gathering of 1683, when delegates 
from the Six Nations and representatives from the white settlements 
in the Mohawk Valley assembled, designated Albany as their capital, 
and decreed that the " Covenant House " was " always to be kept open 
and clean." 

10 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



The Old Stadt Huys was on June 19, 1754, the scene of a notable 
assembly, when delegates from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Con- 
necticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York, met, 
and uttered the first sentiments concerning a declaration of Indepen- 
dence. Benjamin Franklin presided at this meeting, and urged the 
convention to adopt the very measures to which twenty years later he 
subscribed his name. Other delegates were Theodore Atkinson of 
New Hampshire, Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts, and Colonel 
Tasker of Maryland, who afterward wrote a very interesting account 
of the convention. Representatives from the Indian nations had come 
very solemnly to receive the chain-belt of wampum, on which the 
king was represented holding in close embrace both the colonies and 
the tribes of the Five Nations. " The treaty with the Indians," states 
Munsell, " was conducted with great solemnity. Presents of great value 
were made to them by the several governments, with which they ap- 
peared to be well pleased. The Indians being dismissed, the congress 
remained in session until early in July. The commissioners were, for 
abilities and fortune, amongthefirst men of North America. The speak- 
ers, however, we are told, were few in number; but among them were 
those who spoke with singular energy and eloquence. All were in- 
flamed with patriotic spirit, and the debates were moving and heart- 
stirring. Before adjournment, a plan was adopted for a general union 
of the British colonies in North America, and for creating a common 
fund to defray all military expenses." Munsell says that at the time of 
the congress in Albany the city had only 300 or 400 houses, and that 
the population was from 1,500 to 2,000. Bancroft, in mentioning this 
convention, says that "America had never seen an assembly so vener- 
able for the states represented or for the great and able men that com- 
posed it. . . . Every voice declared that a reunion of all the colonies 
was absolutely necessary." The plan for political union was doomed 
to wait for more than twenty years, as, in the year 1754 when it was 
evolved, the provincial assemblies rejected it because it gave too much 
power to the crown, and the crown rejected it because it gave too much 
power to the people. The Indians seem to have been the only subjects 
that profited by the eloquence of Franklin in the early days. They 
heeded what he said, kept their covenant, and Albany wcm for itself 
the honor of being the place where were taken the first steps toward 
the formation of a Federal Union. 

When the news of Concord and Lexington was brought, either by 
a packet or by relays of fleet horses, more than twenty years after 
this eventful convention, it was Lucas Cassidy, a patriotic Irishman, 
who, accompanied by John Ostrander, awoke quiet State Street by 
the ringing of an enormous bell, thus calling together the people, 
who quickly rallied to the cause of the Patriots and raised companies. 
From the Stadt Huys, exactly twenty-two years after the eventful 
convention, the bell called the people who assembled to hear read, 
on July 19, 1776, the Declaration of Independence. 

11 



Convention 
of I7S4 



Benjamin 
Franklin 

presides 



hidians 

receive 

valuable 

gifts 



Bancroft 
writes 
of the 
convention 



News of 
Lexington 
and Concord 
brought 
to Albany 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Prisoners 

in the 

Stadt Huys 



"Give me an 

Irishman's 

gun, and 

I will 

go first!" 



Prisoners 

in white 

marched up 

State Street 

to the 

gallows 



The Stadt Huys was the scene in 1778 of considerable trouble with 
several prisoners who had been confined in the building. When the 
sheriff appeared to remove the offenders, they had so firmly barricaded 
the door of the room in which they were confined that ingress was 
impossible. On being ordered to open the door, the prisoners said 
that, if they were not left alone, they would set fire to a train of powder 
they had laid in, and blow up, not only themselves, but their assailants 
as well. It was found on investigation by officers and the crowd gath- 
ered outside the building that the prisoners did have powder. After 
much delay, somebody suggested that an entrance be made through 
the roof; but nobody seemed anxious to undertake to do this, until 
an Irishman by the name of McDole called out, " Give me an Irish- 
man's gun, and I will go first! " A huge cudgel was handed him; and 
he made his entrance from the roof, and beat off the prisoners, who 
in the mean time, v/ith their train of powder, had been drenched with 
the hose from the fire department. Men came to the rescue of the 
daring McDole, who had done considerable damage with his club; 
and the prisoners were captured, and marched in solemn procession 
up State Street to the present Capitol Hill, where, on the spot reserved 
for the gallows, they were executed. An angry mob attended them all 
the way, and remained to see that justice was meted out to the of- 
fenders. As was the custom when men were then executed, the 
victims marched up State Street, each garbed in a robe of white. Such 
processions were not uncommon in the eighteenth century. 



Located form- 
erly at the north- 
east corner of 
Broadway and 
Hudson Avenue, 
one block from 
State Street, on 
a spot now 
marked by a 
bronze tablet 
near the Dela- 
ware iff Hudson 
Build in g. In 




this Old City 
Hall there as- 
sembled in n5J+ 
the notable con- 
gress of the colo- 
nies, and here 
were uttered sen- 
timents that 
twenty years 
later were incor- 
porated in the 
Declaration of 
Independence 



From a print in the New York State Library 
THE OLD STADT HUYS 




Collection of James E. Manning 

HISTORIC ST. PETER'S CHURCH IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 

Beneath the tower of this church rest the remains of Lord Howe, and in the tower is the so-called 
Queen Anne bell that first announced in Albany the news of independence 

The whipping-post, stocks, and pillory stood near the Old Stadt 
Huys. In this historic building, on Albany's being made the capital 
in 1797, the first session of legislature in the city was held. Burr, 
Emmet, Henry, and Hamilton were familiar figures at the City Hall. 
The Stadt Huys was vacated in November, 1808, and the offices were 
removed to the State Capitol. 

Three years after the Stadt Huys was built, the Rev. Thomas jhe Rev. 
Barclay, who was then chaplain at the fort, preached also in Dutch Thomas 
to the people. Though belonging to the English Church, he was on ^arfiay 
friendly terms with the Dutch, freely taught their children English, 
and there even had been sent to him for catechizing the children of 
Dominie Lydius, for whom he entertained a warm friendship. Matters 
went along so for seven years, during which Mr. Barclay was allowed to 
use the chapel of the Lutherans. In 1714 Mr. Barclay applied to 
Governor Hunter for a grant of land on which an English church Building oj 
might be built, and he was given a lot on Yonkers (now State) Street, the English 
near Pearl. In the fall of the same year, Mr. Barclay, preferring to '"/'«''<^^' 
have his church located near the fort in a wider part of State Street, 
asked that the lot might be changed; and his petition was granted. 
No sooner had the stone and lime been gathered for the church than 
the aldermen of Albany, unwilling to have the church built in the 
middle of the street, forbade its erection. Workmen, in spite of this 
order, were told by Mr. Barclay to proceed, and the aldermen, in- 
censed at this, arrested two of them, and after that sent a " fast ex- 
press " in the shape of a canoe to New York, with an appeal to the 

13 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 

governor, who ordered the imprisoned workmen to be liberated and 
work on the church edifice to be resumed. 
First The church was opened for service in November, 1716. Possibly 
service at ^j^g ^ew stone building, towerless as it was, assumed magnificent pro- 
St. Peter s pQi-^-JQ^s to the Dutch; for they at once began to build about their small 
church, at the foot of State Street, another and larger church of stone, 
which they completed before the English finished theirs. This church 
the Dutch occupied for ninety years; and it is said that the first person 
baptized in it was Elizabeth Vinhagen, who became the wife of Jonas 
Oathout, and that the church-bell was last tolled when she was buried 
at the age of ninety-two. 
Albany s A tower was added to the English church in 1751, and in that year 
independence ^ bgU was sent from England. This old bell, hanging in the centre 
^^'' of the chime in the tower of the present St. Peter's, and used now only 
to usher in the New Year, was the first bell to ring in independence at 
Albany. In earlier days it " summoned to divine service the garrison 
of the fort, the people of the little frontier city, and the Indians en- 
camped outside the ' palisades,' who had come out of the forest for 
barter or to brighten the links of the ' covenant chain ' between the 
Province and the six tribes of the Iroquois confederacy." The bell 
has in raised letters the following inscription: — 

St. Peter's Church, 

Albany, 1751. 

Minister, J. Ogilvie. J. Stevenson, E. Collins, 

Church Wardens. 

Queen Anne A communion service given by Queen Anne for a chapel that was to 
communion have been erected among the Onondagas, and was never built, was 
service gjygn to St. Peter's, and has ever since been used. The set of seven 
pieces is quaintly inscribed, and bears the royal arms. 
Resting- Beneath the tower of the present St. Peter's rest the remains of 
place of George Augustus Scrope, Lord Viscount Howe, who was killed in the 
Lord Howe ^^^^q^ q{ i75g^ while fighting to wrest the fortress of Ticonderoga 
The night from the French. On the night of July 6, 1758, Howe, lying on a bear- 
beforethe ^Y\n rug in camp, talked to Stark concerning the battle that was to 
battle ^^j^g place the following day. There seemed to be about the young 
Englishman an anxiety and possibly a foreboding as to the out- 
come of the conflict. From the landing at Lake George the English ad- 
vanced in four columns. Howe led his own company, and shortly, 
in the mazes of the forest, came across a company of French and In- 
dians. It was after the skirmish was over that a chance shot killed 
Lord Howe. Mante, who was then in the service, says, " With him the 
soul of the expedition seemed to expire." He was the brother of Ad- 
miral Lord Howe, who commanded the British fleet in the early part 
of the Revolution. Lord Howe was but thirty-four years old when he 
fell, and was greatly loved by his comrades. 

The first intimation of his death that reached Albany was received 

14 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



from a hatless man who rode furiously past the Schuyler mansion from 
the north, crying, as he went on: "Lord Howe is killed! Lord Howe -Lord Howe 
is killed!" A few days later a single barge arrived in Albany, and is killed!" 
from it Philip Schuyler tenderly bore the remains of the young noble- 
man. Lord Howe was buried with military obsequies in St. Peter's Biirial at 
Church. Years later, when the edifice was demolished to give place to St. Peter's 
the church that stood on the present site of St. Peter's, the double 
coffin containing Lord Howe was found. The inner coffin, of rich 
mahogany, was in a very good state of preservation. When it was 
opened, the remains were still wrapped in the costly damask covering, 
which crumbled to dust at the first breath of air. Lord Howe's re- 
mains were placed in the second St. Peter's, on the site of the present 
church. They now repose beneath the vestibule of the present St. 
Peter's. 

It was on Wednesday, November 20, 1804, from the famous 
Schuyler mansion, where Washington, Lafayette, Baron Steuben, 
Count de Rochambeau, Benjamin Franklin, and many other notable 
men of the day had been entertained, and where Alexander Hamilton 
wedded lovely Elizabeth Schuyler, that the long procession passed up 
State Street bearing the remains of General Philip Schuyler, friend 
of Lord Howe. A contemporary writer describes the event: — 

" The military under command of Major S. Lansing were drawn up 
in Washington Street; and on the appearance of the corpse it was re- 
ceived by the line with presented arms, saluted by the officers and by 
the standard, which was enshrouded in crape, and with melancholy 
music by the band. The military then preceded the bier in open col- 
umn and inverted order with arms reversed, the band playing a dead 
march. The pall was supported by Chancellor Lansing, Stephen Lush, 
Esq., Abraham Van Vechten, Esq., Peter W. Yates, Esq., Col. Van 
Vechten, John V. Henry, Esq., Mr. James Caldwell and Mr. Barent 
Bleecker. On the top of the coffin was the General's hat and sword, 
with boots and spurs reversed across the horse. His grey horse was 
led by two black servants dressed in black and white turbans. The 
streets were lined with people, doors and windows were filled, and even 
the housetops were not without spectators to behold the melancholy 
procession, and to pay their last offices of respect to the deceased. Dur- 
ing the procession's advance there was a regular discharge of minute 
guns from Prospect Hill, by a detachment of the artillery." 

A tablet on St. Peter's Church in State Street gives the following his- Tablet on 
torical data : " In the middle of State, formerly Yonkers Street, one St. Peter's 
block below stood the first English Church, built a. d. 1715 upon ground 
granted by letters patent from King George the First. It bore the 
name of St. Peter's Church. The parish was incorporated 1769. The 
second St. Peter's Church Avas built on this site a.d. 1802, and bore this 
inscription, ' Glory be to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy en- 
dureth forever.' The present edifice was built a.d. 1859. Upon this 
spot stood the northeast bastion of Fort Frederick." 

IS 



Burial of 
General 
Philip 
Schuyler 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Harmanus 

Wendell, 

fur-trader 



Fur-trading 

in State 

Street 



Martin 

Van Buren 

resides in 

State Street 



Home oj 

Robert 

Vales 



John Van 
Ness Yates 



A year after the building of St. Peter's Church in the middle of 
State Street, Harmanus Wendell built on the south side of State Street a 
substantial dwelling, where he carried on an extensive fur-trade. It 
is surmised that the house was the scene of many a characteristic trans- 
action between the Dutch and the Indians; but this is only assump- 
tion, as nothing in the way of definite data survives. In 1841 the house 
was demolished to make way for a four-story brick store, built by 
John V. L. Pruyn and Henry H. Martin. 

As late as 1780 fur-trading was carried on in State Street; and the 
prince of merchants at that time, as well as the richest man in Albany, 
was John Stevenson, w^hose noted mansion in State Street was com- 
menced by him on the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, and fin- 
ished about 1780. For nearly half a century it was occupied by the 
Stevenson family. It was located at 92 State Street, on the present 
site of the Empire Theatre, near the Albany City Savings Institution. 
Although neither Worth nor Munsell mentions this fact, it is said that 
this house witnessed more or less trade in furs with the Indians. The 
house, which eventually was used as a hotel before its demolition in 
1841, is best remembered as the home of A4artin Van Buren when he 
was governor of New York. At that time and even later it was the 
rendezvous of the leading politicians of the day. Mr. Van Buren served 
a brief term as governor, having been inaugurated on January 1, 1829, 
and serving until March 12 of the same year. His inaugural address 
has been many times mentioned as one of the best executive messages 
delivered in the State. Mr. Hammond, a political historian of New 
York, though not friendly toward Governor Van Buren, acknowledged 
that it was " the best executive message ever delivered to the Legis- 
lature." Less than ten years after the delivery of this famous message, 
Martin Van Buren was elected President of the United States. 

Another well-known house in State Street at this time was that of 
Robert Yates, who in 1777 was appointed one of the justices of the Su- 
preme Court of New York, and who in 1790 became chief justice. 
Worth recalls this noted justice and his son, John V. Yates: "Old 
Judge Yates [Robert], one of the members that framed the constitu- 
tion, was a clear-headed, strong-minded man; straightforward, honest 
and patriotic. His son, John Van Ness Yates, was a man of talents, 
both natural and acquired. He was equal to the duties of any station, 
and to the diflrtculties of any task. He was a wit, a poet, a belles- 
lettres scholar, and a boon companion. He wanted nothing but in- 
dustry and self-respect to have made him an eminent lawyer. His as- 
sociations were beneath him. . . . All that he had read, and he 
had a vast deal, was at his fingers' ends. He was often consulted by the 
youngest members of the bar, while walking in the streets; and with- 
out a moment's hesitation, would take out his pencil and write down 
what was the law in the case, and where it was to be found — volume, 
chapter and verse. From these frequent consultations he was called 
the Walking Library." 



16 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



The Yates house was at 106 State Street, opposite Hotel Ten Eyck, 
and after the death of Chief Justice Yates it was occupied by John 
Van Ness Yates. After his death it was used for various purposes until 
its demolition in 1855. 

The first stone house built in Albany was near State Street, at the 
northwest corner of Green and Beaver Streets. In the days preceding 
the Revolution the house was known as the King's Arms Tavern; and 
from it in the early part of the conflict was taken a picture of King 
George, which was, with another portrait of him from St. Peter's, 
burned in the middle of State Street. Apparently, the tavern — possibly 
because of its name-— declined in popularity for a season; for. when it 
next appears before the public, it bears the name of Hugh Dennitson's 
Tavern, and, from the very steps down which an angry delegation bore 
the portrait of a despised king, George Washington in 1782 was given 
the freedom of the city. 

Abraham Ten Broeck was then mayor of Albany, and he with the 
common council received with impressive formalities General Wash- 
ington, who, while on this tour of military inspection, was accompa- 
nied by Lafayette, Kosciuszko, Hamilton, Steuben, and Generals Knox 
and Greene. In the evening, Washington and his companions were 
entertained at the Schuyler mansion. On July 19, 1783, Washington 
again visited Albany. Again he was received at Dennitson's, and 
given the freedom of the city. A public dinner was tendered him, and 
the following sentiment presented: "Under the smiles of Providence, 
with a brave and victorious army, aided by a great and generous ally, 
you have saved America from bondage, restored to her the peaceful 
enjoyment of her civil rights, and laid a solid foundation for the free- 
dom and independence of the United States. Receive, Sir, our sincere 
wish that you may in the bosom of your country enjoy the tranquillity 
which your toils have purchased and look forward with patriotic pleas- 
ure to those ages of prosperity which we may reasonably hope will be 
confirmed in endless succession by the wisdom and harmony of her 
councils." 

General Washington said in reply: "To the Mayor, Aldermen and 
Commonalty of the City of Albany, — Gentlemen, I accept with heart- 
felt satisfaction your affectionate congratulations on the restoration of 
peace and the formal recognition of the Independence of the United 
States. We may indeed ascribe these most happy and glorious events 
to the smiles of Providence, and the virtue of our citizens and bravery 
of our troops, aided by the powerful interposition of our magnani- 
mous and illustrious ally. For the favorable sentiments you are 
pleased to express to my agency in this Revolution, and for your 
benevolent wishes for my personal felicity, I entreat you, gentlemen, to 
receive my warmest acknowledgments. While I contemplate with 
inexpressible pleasure the future tranquillity and glory of our common 
country, I cannot but take a particular interest in the anticipation 
of the increase in prosperity and greatness of this ancient and respect- 



The King's. 
Arms 



Dennitson's 



If'askington 
given the 
freedom of 
the city 



Address by 

General 

If'askington 



17 




h 


•a 


W 


41 


Pi 




H 


n 


C/J 


4) 


W 


Q 


H 


n 


< 




H 


"V 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



able city of Albany, from whose citizens I have received such dis- 
tinguished tokens of their approbation and esteem." 

Before the notable century that marked the beginning of the Ameri- 
can nation passed, several changes took place in State Street. The old 
State Hall, the first public building erected in the State of New York 
after the Revolution, was built in State Street, at the corner of Lodge. 
The building was commenced in 1797 and completed in 1799, and here 
several sessions of the legislature were held before the completion of 
the State Capitol in 1808. In 1797 the Caldwell house at 66 and 68 
State Street, the seat of government having been placed in Albany in 
that year, became the executive mansion; and Governor John Jay took 
up his residence, as a contemporary paper announces, in the "elegant 
house." Most of the governors of New York have resided in State 
Street. 

Elkanah Watson, a Yankee, who came to Albany in the latter part of 
the eighteenth century, was instrumental in procuring several reforms 
that were made in the city. Mr. Watson may have been among those 
who provided a pound for the pigs, universal garbage-gatherers of 
the time, and thereby made himself unpopular. It was he who had a 
large part in the plans for paving State Street; and in connection with 
its accomplishment, which took place in 1789, Mr. Watson said that 
he happened to be passing down the street after a severe rain-storm, 
when the housewives were vigorously sweeping away the debris washed 
about their door-steps. On seeing him, they addressed him in adjec- 
tives not exactly complimentary; and their wrath gathering as they 
talked, in order to keep it warm maybe, they proceeded toward the 
helpless Elkanah with brooms uplifted for war. The only thing to 
do under the circumstances was to retreat, and this the hapless Yankee 
did as fast as his feet would take him. 

A notable event of the latter part of the century just mentioned was 
the coming to Albany of a brilliant and unhappy figure of American 
history. The Old City Hall at Broadway and Hudson Avenue was 
the scene of an interesting proceeding when, on the 19th of January, 
1782, after a special permit being granted by the court that previously 
had not recognized for examination any law student who had pursued 
his studies for less than three years, Aaron Burr underwent a rigid ex- 
amination by eminent attorneys (some of whom were anxious that 
he be rejected), and was with honor licensed as an attorney. And it 
is further recorded that " at a supreme court of judicature, held for 
the State of New York, at the City Hall of the City of Albany, on the 
17th day of April, 1782, Aaron Burr having on examination been found 
of competent ability and learning to practise as counsellor, it was or- 
dered that he be admitted to the bar." 

Colonel Burr came to Albany in the autumn of 1781, and there ap- 
plied himself to the study of law. Judge Yates, who was always greatly 
esteemed by Burr, gave him considerable assistance in his pursuit. Burr 
wrote regularly to Mrs. Prevost, to whom he was betrothed; and some 

19 



The close of 
a notable 
ce-ntury 



Executive 
mansion in 
State Street 



State Street 
faved 



Watson 
attacked 
by brooms 
wielded by 
Albany 
housewives 



Aaron Burr 
examined 
for the bar 
at the Old 
City Hall 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Burr opens a 
law-offici' 
in Albanx 



Rapid rise 

in his 

profession 



A tavern 
tale 



of his spare hours were spent in reading Rousseau, for whom he seems 
to have had an admiration. The young law student was soon received 
by the leading men of the city, and Philip Van Rensselaer himself un- 
dertook to procure for him more comfortable quarters. Burr, in a 
letter to Theodosia Prevost of December, 1781, speaks of Van Rens- 
selaer, and adds that his accommodations " are indeed far removed 
from elegance, and in some respects from convenience. He [Van 
Rensselaer] insists that I suffer him to procure me better." And in 
a letter dated the following day he tells Mrs. Prevost that " Van Rens- 
selaer has succeeded perfectly in my wish. I am with two maidens, 
aunts of his, obliging and (incredible!) good-natured. The very para- 
gon of neatness. Not an article of the furniture even to a tea-kettle, 
that would soil a muslin handkerchief. I have two upper rooms." 
Unfortunately, for the lover of detail, the young law-student does not 
say where these rooms were located. 

In July, 1782, Aaron Burr married Theodosia Prevost; and, during 
the eighteen months Burr practised law in Albany, they made their 
home a part of the time in Washington Avenue, in the house that 
formerly stood on a part of the site now occupied by the Fort Orange 
Club. The family lived also in James Street. 

Burr's law-office was on the north side of Norton Street, the second 
door east of South Pearl Street, on a part of the site now occupied by 
the Bensen Building. It is not strange that, with the reputation as a 
soldier already possessed by Burr, with the excellent connections he 
had made in Albany, and with his engaging personality and shrewd- 
ness, the young attorney succeeded in establishing in Albany County 
a wealthy and distinguished clientele. In view of these facts it is not 
strange that he rose rapidly In his profession. Within a few months 
after the Norton Street office was opened, Aaron Burr had laid the 
foundation of a business so profitable that it was surpassed by that 
of few men in the State. He was sure of success and of being able to 
provide for his family when he married Mrs. Prevost. As his clients 
crowded in, he gave his attention more and more to business. What- 
ever time remained he devoted to his home. 

Occasionally, with various grumblings concerning the facilities for 
travel between Albany and New York, Burr visited the latter city. A 
story is told of a trip by stage once taken by him in winter. The stage 
stopped the second night at Poughkeepsie, and at the tavern there a 
juggler undertook to amuse the travellers. Colonel Burr was in the 
audience. Almost immediately after the performer appeared, he ap- 
proached Colonel Burr, gave him a silver dollar, and told him to hold 
it tightly, as his best trick of the evening would be performed with it. 
After the tricks were exhausted, the man came for his dollar. Colonel 
Burr handed it to him, saying, " I see no trick in this." 

" It was my best trick of the evening," said the juggler, earnestly. " I 
knew the moment I saw you that you would see through everything I 
did, and that is why I gave you the dollar to divert your attention." 

20 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 

Many who remember Aaron Burr have said that this power of pene- Bttrr 
tration was one of his best weapons in the practice of law. After the '.7"°y"^^f 
signing of the preHminary treaty of peace, Colonel Burr decided to re- ""^ °^ 
move to New York City; and there, after the evacuation of the 
British, established an extensive practice. 

Another event which attracted much attention in Albany was the Death of 
death of General Washington. President John Adams conveyed the JJ'aslungton 
news to Congress by reading a letter he received from the private 
secretary of Washington, containing the following message: "On 
the 14th day of December, 1799, General George Washington 
breathed his last at Mount Vernon in the 69th year of his age." 
When the news reached Albany, a resolution was passed by the Com- 
mon Council. " Resolved," says the text of this document, " That the 
Bells of the City be tolled from three to five o'clock this afternoon 
(Dec. 23) and that the Members of this Board wear Crape round the 
left arm for the space of six weeks, as a testimony of respect to the 
memory of Lieut. Gen. Washington, deceased." A funeral procession 
formed in the streets on January 9, 1800, when the citizens solemnly 
honored the memory of their great leader. 

"A deep and mournful silence," says Mrs. Bonney, " hung over all Funeral 
ranks, and gave the most impressive testimony of a pervading heart- procession 
felt grief at the irreparable loss of a character uniting such unexam- 
pled virtue and public worth. The artilleries of the United States 
began the solemnities at daybreak, by firing sixteen guns in quick 
succession, and continued firing a gun every half-hour until the signal 
was given by three guns for the procession to form. At ten o'clock 
the military paraded in Watervliet Street, under the command of Major 
Solomon Van Rensselaer of the army of the LTnited States, as Mar- 
shal. Capt. McClallen as officer of the day, assisted by Adjutant Wen- 
dell and Lieutenant Treat, directed the procession. 

" The bier [containing its symbolic burden] was received on the 
left of the line, drawn up in open ranks with arms presented, the 
officers, colors, and music saluting. Minute guns firing at a distance 
during the procession. At 11 o'clock by a signal of two guns, in 
immediate succession, the procession moved in the following order: 
Cavalry with swords reversed. Drums muffled, colors reversed and 
in mourning. Band of Music, instruments draped in crape. . . . 
General's horse, led by 2 black men in mourning with white turbans. 
Law society of young gentlemen wearing crape, with badges 
trimmed with black ribbon; their president in full mourning. 
Having arrived at the North Dutch Church, the procession halted, 
the troops formed in two lines, with open ranks; the whole body of 
military leaning on arms reversed. The bier, preceded by the officers 
of the government, and the clergy, passed through to the centre of the 
middle aisle of the church. The officers of the army, the corporation 
of the city and the respective corporations then followed, succeeded by 
the several societies . . . the citizens following. . . .The bier was 

21 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Observance of 

IVashtngton's 

Birthday, 

1800 



Oration by 

Major 

Michael 

Houdin 



"Prepare to 

shed your 

tear! " 



New York 

State National 

Bank 

chartered 



Tontine 
Coffee 
House 



Notice 

from a 

Lansingburgh 

paper 



then removed to the front of the church where the last honors were 
paid to the memory of the deceased. While the procession was moving 
the bells of the respective churches were tolled, they all had been pre- 
viously muffled. The military presented a splendid appearance." 

Washington's birthday — February 22, 1800 — was appropriately ob- 
served at the various churches in Albany. A ceremony in his memory 
was observed at the City Hall. The procession, composed of both 
houses of the legislature and the executive and judicial officers of New 
York, formed in the morning at City Hall, and passed through State 
and Pearl Streets to the North Dutch Church, In the afternoon a me- 
morial oration by Major Michael Houdin was delivered in City Hall. 
Major Houdin was a Frenchman, the eccentricities of whom have been 
portrayed by various writers. He was a small man, and has been de- 
scribed as " very bandy-legged " and as wearing his hair " clubbed and 
powdered." On the afternoon he was to deliver the Washington me- 
morial oration the major paced the steps in front of the City Hall until 
the audience had gathered. " He held in his hand," an observer said, 
" a roll of large sized paper, tied round with black, and continued his 
walk till the house was well filled, when he came in and read his 
speech." 

Major Houdin's English was far from perfect, but his heart was 
warm with love for the great Washington. Unfortunately, he reached 
a climax that had an astonishing effect on the audience, when he 
paused, and then said, " Ladies and gentlemen, now I come to the 
pathetic part of my discourse, prepare to shed your tear!" and, after 
generously praising Washington, he sat down, weeping. 

State Street added another chapter to its history in 1803, when the 
New York State National Bank was chartered. It occupied a building 
erected for its use that year near the northwest corner of State and 
James Streets. This building, still occupied by the bank to-day, is the 
oldest edifice continuously used for banking purposes in the United 
States. This same year the Tontine Coffee House at 51-54 State Street, 
which had passed through varied and interesting changes, was the only 
public house in the city. As early as 1790 Ananias Piatt, who became 
proprietor of the Tontine, won local note by establishing a stage-line 
between Albany and Lansingburgh. Mr. Piatt's inn was at the latter 
place. By 1796 his stages were making two trips a day between these 
two points. The following note of his enterprise was made in a Lan- 
singburgh paper of 1796: "A few years ago there was but one Stage 
between this Place and Albany. It was established and maintained at 
great Expense by Mr. A. Piatt, and for a considerable Time had little 
Encouragement. He however persevered, and at this Day, this Mode 
of Travelling has so increased, that twenty Stages pass and repass daily 
between the neighboring Towns of Lansingburgh, Troy, Waterford 
and Albany, averaging more than 150 Passengers a-Day; a Proof of 
our growth and Prosperity." 

Mr. Piatt, who in 1798 kept the Tontine, was succeeded in 1801 by 

22 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Matthew Gregory. In this same year Mr. Gregory announced his vent- 
ure: "Tontine Coffee House — Mat. Gregory, from the village of 
Waterford, has taken the Tontine Coffee House, State Street, in the 
city of Albany. He has also provided himself with a large yard, stable 
&c., for horses and carriages, for convenience of the gentleman traveler. 
The house has been kept for three years past by Mr. Ananias Piatt, 
and will be open and ready to wait on those who may be pleased to 
call on him, the 15th inst. Every attention in his line of business shall 
be strictly attended to, by the public's humble servant. Mat. Gregory." 

All of the noted travellers of the day stayed at the Tontine, and quiet 
order prevailed throughout the establishment. De Witt Clinton, Aaron 
Burr, Alexander Hamilton, and Daniel D. Tompkins were there when- 
ever affairs called them to the city. Jerome Buonaparte, " the lightest 
twig of the Corsican tree," stayed for some time at the Tontine. 
Matthew Gregory, who had had some army experience, was proprie- 
tor of the Tontine until his retirement from business, in which he had 
acquired a small fortune. In 1814 he purchased Congress Hall on 
Capitol Hill, and there lived in quiet elegance, occasionally coming 
from his seclusion to greet a famous guest or to take part in some pub- 
lic demonstration. He was one of the committee that received Lafay- 
ette in Albany, and a reception to the French general was held in Mr. 
Gregory's parlor. Matthew Gregory assumed a fashionable style of 
dress up to ripe old age. At eighty-seven he has been described as 
erect and very active, even though he spent his days in a somewhat 
limited circle. He was an early riser, and Mr. Worth asserts that his 
dailv ambition was to get to the barber's before breakfast and before 
Dr.^eter Wendell. 

It was at the Tontine Coffee House that the wounds of General Solo- 
mon Van Rensselaer were dressed after the notorious affray in State 
Street that resulted in considerable litigation and the imposition of 
heavy fines. The hostility that caused this attack grew out of political 
rivalry between the Federalists and the Republicans. Newspapers 
and handbills added fuel to the lire. General Solomon Van Rensselaer 
had read the advertisements published by the rival party; and un- 
doubtedly when he walked down State Street on the 21st of April, 
1807, he had already made up his mind just what he would do if he 
met one Elisha Jenkins, secretary of the Republican party. Accord- 
ingly, when the meeting took place. General Van Rensselaer without 
ceremony of any sort gave Mr. Jenkins a severe caning. Judge John 
Tayler, hearing of the assault, sallied out to meet General Van 
Rensselaer. 

"Assassin, rascal, scoundrel ! " he called, and pursued General Van 
Rensselaer down State Street, calling out a number of other names as 
he ran. A crowd gathered, and increased until it composed more than 
half of the male population of Albany. State Street from Pearl Street 
to Broadway was filled with men, and the windows above were crowded 
with curious gazers. 



Mr. Gregory's 
idvertisement 



Some noted 
guests 



Mr. Gregory 
purchases 
Congress 
Hall 



.4n affray hi 
State Street 



23 




Y5F^i<^?*^^'^^ 



Collection of New York State Library 

STATE STREET IN 1842, FROM AN EARLY LITHOGRAPH, SHOWING THE 
CAPITOL AND THE MUSEUM 



Judge Tayler took his stand in front of his house; and his son-in- 
law, Dr. Charles D. Cooper, and Francis Bloodgood, another relative, 
came to his assistance, calling, as they pressed through the crowd: 
"Kill Van Rensselaer! Kill the damned rascal!" And with that they 
both kicked the general, who had already received several wounds 
from the cane. General Van Rensselaer was struck by his assailants 
several times from behind, and was severely beaten after he had fallen. 
The victim The wounded man was rescued; and, after his wounds were dressed 
taken to the at the Tontine Coflfee House, he was removed on a mattress in a boat 

Totitmr |-Q Cherry Hill. " His thick, beautiful hair," says Mrs. Bonney, " fortu- 
nately was braided and clubbed behind, and this had afforded some 
protection to his head; but his symptoms continued very alarming. 
The stroke from the heavy club on the back of his head, and the das- 
tardly kicking after he was prostrate, brought him to the verge of the 
grave; for many weeks he lay nearly unconscious, and the chance for 
life appeared but small." 

The trial of both cases for assault was in August, 1808. The case 
attracted wide attention, as no other occurrence of the kind had taken 
place. Simon De Witt, James Kane, and John Van Schaick were the 

Awards arbitrators; and the awards were as follows: Jenkins against Van 
Rensselaer, $2,500; Van Rensselaer against Tayler, $300; Van Rens- 
selaer against Cooper, $500; Van Rensselaer against Bloodgood, $3,700. 

24 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Another noted landmark on State Street at the northwest corner of 
Broadway, now the site of the Albany Trust Company, was the old 
Museum Building. The site on which the building was located was 
in the early days known as " Robinson's Corner." It was purchased 
in 1827 by Thorpe and Sprague, who built there their stage-house. 
Prior to this the famous Albany museum had been founded by Henry 
Trowbridge. In 1809 he occupied the Old City Hall; and there he 
collected curiosities, including shells, minerals, and some insects. Trow- 
bridge was something of a genius. He attracted wide attention in 1817 
by installing 120 burners in his museum and in lighting the same with 
gas, the first illumination of the kind in Albany. He carefully demon- 
strated that it was cheaper to use gas-light than candles or oil, and he 
said that the expense of his new light was only 63 cents a night, whereas 
oil and tallow had cost him from $1.87 to $2.25. 

The first of January, 1831, Trowbridge removed from his old quar- 
ters to the new building, belonging to Thorpe and Sprague, that had 
become a starting-place of their stage-coaches. Thereafter the edifice 
was known as the Museum Building. Several collections had been 
added to that of Trowbridge, including those of the New York State 
Museum and of the Troy Museum. J. Leslie painted a new drop-scene 
for the Museum. Exhibitions were held daily. A yearly ticket sold 
for ten dollars, a single gentleman's yearly ticket for three dollars, and 
a quarterly ticket for a dollar and a quarter. 

Many notable men and women appeared at the old Museum after 
it became a theatre. Phelps in his History of the Albany Stage tells 
an excellent story concerning Herr Driesbach, who with his tiger per- 
formed at the Museum in a sensational play. " In order to win the 
lady," says Phelps, " the hero had to capture this tiger, who was sup- 
posed to be in a cave in the mountains, but who was really in a cage 
raised up to the top of the scene, and his master, going up a sort of 
run, the door is opened, the beast sticks his head out, is collared by 
Driesbach, who has a great struggle with him, making a very effective 
scene. Now the musician happened to have a very large red nose, 
and the boys laughing at him, had told him the day previous, that if 
he wasn't careful, the tiger would take his nose for beefsteak, and he'd 
get into trouble. He passed it off lightly, and at night was at his post as 
usual, and the old viol did special duty in accompanying the scenes of 
the drama. The climax was approaching; the door of the cage was 
about to open, and Driesbach prepared for his struggle with the beast 
whose grumbling and roaring was being imitated as closely as possible 
by the player on the double bass. The tiger appeared and sprang down 
the run to meet his tamer. The musician, who had all the time been 
a little nervous, was watching the stage, and as the door opened, it 
appeared to him the animal had his eyes fixed directly on that unfor- 
tunate nose. Down came the tiger; away went the bass viol; ' Mein 
Gott in Himmel ! ' exclaimed the frightened musician, as he started 
towards the audience. They saw him coming, and already much ex- 

25 



Old 

Museum 

Bxiilding 



First 
rollectiott 
in Old 
City Hall 



Removal to 

northwest 

corner 

Broadway 

and State 

Street 



.1 tiger 
story 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Palmy days 
of the old 
Museum 



Booth aids 

in fighting 

fire 



Old 

Museum 

discontinued 



Sale of the 
curiosities 



Erection of 

Albany 

Trust 

Company 

Building 



cited, thought the animal had really broken loose, and in less than a 
minute, there wasn't a soul in that part of the house. . . . The actors 
were about as scared as anybody. . . . They gave the tiger all 
the stage room he wanted." 

On the 1st of February, 1841, the Museum was reopened after it 
had been decorated by Signor Guidicini, who was then artist of the 
National Opera House of New York City. In 1848 the Museum was 
enlarged. In that year on July 10 the elder Booth played there. The 
great fire occurred on the 17th of that month; and, in gratitude to the 
firemen for having saved his wardrobe, Booth aided them in fighting 
the flames the entire day. When night came, he appeared at the 
Museum in his red flannel shirt, and asked where the lighting plant 
was. On being told, he disappeared; and, when it was time to turn on 
the light, the gas-pipes were found sadly battered. Booth did not play 
that night. It is said that on this trip he was accompanied by his son 
Edwin, who sat in a box, following the copy of the play in which his 
father acted. Young Booth kept a close watch on his father, but in 
spite of his vigilance the elder Booth often evaded the younger. Booth, 
the elder, was found one night very drunk in Trotter's Alley, and those 
interested in having him sober for the next night took him in a car- 
riage to the old Howard Street jail, where he was left to recover from 
his debauch. The following morning he was drunker than ever, — to 
the surprise of those who visited him. Some years afterward the mys- 
tery was cleared up, when a man by the name of Boardman, who did 
odd chores about the jail, said that he had been induced by Booth to 
procure a pint of brandy and a churchwarden's pipe. The brandy was 
placed outside the grating, and with the aid of the long pipe-stem 
Booth consumed its contents. 

Henry Trowbridge died in 1844, and the old Museum was discon- 
tinued April 21, 1855. A Dr. Spaulding bought the collection of the 
Museum. The rhinoceros skin that had been stuffed in the building 
was so dry and stiff that none of the doors and windows was large 
enough to allow the specimen to pass, so the skin was sawed in two. 
The curiosities were taken by the purchaser — who, by the way, never 
paid for them — down the Mississippi, and there shown in a moving 
theatre. 

Thorpe and Sprague, when the old Museum Building was badly 
damaged by fire, abandoned their stage office in 1861. It was recon- 
structed after that, and has been known since both as the " Alarble 
Pillar " and the " Western Union Building." In 1902 the Albany Trust 
Company purchased the site, and, having erected their banking house, 
occupied it in 1904. 

A near neighbor to State Street was the Vanderhuyden Palace, ad- 
mired by the stranger and immortalized by Irving. Dirk Vander- 
huyden, the progenitor of the Vanderhuyden family in Albany, 
achieved some prominence in 1687, when his name first appears on the 
colonial records. It was in this vear that he with others gave testi- 



26 




Palace 



SLZS^i^. 



Collection of James 11. Manning 
WESTERN UNION BUILDING IN 1878 

The Old Museum Building, afterward converted into the Western Union Building, was for some 

years at the northwest corner of State Street and Broadway. In the early days the 

site was known as Robinson's Corner. After its purchase by Thorp and Sprague, 

it was made a starting-place for stage-coaches 

The site is now occupied by the Albany Trust Company 

mony, before Mayor Nicholas Bayard in New York City, concerning randcr- 
a trading expedition made into the land of the Ottawa Indians, where huyden 
they were attacked by a party of French and Indians, who, after taking 
their arms and goods, barbarously treated the prisoners, and event- 
ually sent them to Quebec. Four of the company out of twenty-nine 
escaped, including Dirk Vanderhuyden, who came to Albany. Here 
Vanderhuyden seems to have established himself. Ten years after giv- 
ing an account of his expedition into the Indian country, his family is 
listed in Albany as composed of 1 man, 1 woman, 4 children. In 
Albany he pursued various callings, and about a year after taking an 
oath of allegiance to King William he was made assessor of the first 
ward in the city. Eventually, he became a city alderman, and one au- 
thority says he was an innkeeper. The city officials at their meeting of 

27 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 

June 18, 1706, made the following record: "The City Hall being now- 
repairing, the Court is therefore resolved to adjourn at Dirk Vander- 
huyden's house, which is adjourned accordingly." On the purchase of 
land in Rensselaerwyck (now Troy), Dirk paid a yearly rental of 
three and three-quarters bushels of wheat and two fat hens or capons. 
This Dirk Vanderhuyden was the grandfather of Jacob Vander- 
huyden, who in 1778 for " 1158£, lawful money of New York" pur- 
chased the house that has come down in history as the Vanderhuyden 
Palace. This edifice, which stood on the west side of Pearl Street, not 
"One of the lar from State, had been built in 1725 by Johannes Beekman, "one of 
worthiest the worthiest burghers of the place." The bricks were imported from 
burghers Holland, and the house was considered one of the best specimens of 
Dutch architecture of the day. A-lr. Beekman lived in his house until 
his death in 1756, after which his daughters lived there until their 
marriage, which occurred just prior to the Revolutionary War. The 
elder married an officer of the English army, and made her home in 
the West Indies; while the younger married John M'Crea, and con- 
tinued to live in her father's house. On the removal of the M'Crea 
family from Albany the house was rented for a number of years, and 
a part of the time it was used for school purposes. Even after the 
purchase of the house in 1778 by Jacob Vanderhuyden, it was not 
occupied by him until after the great fire of 1797, when the house 
where he was then living had burned. From this year until the time 
of his death in 1820 Mr. Vanderhuyden lived in the Vanderhuyden 
Palace, and it was during the period in which he was its master that 
it enjoyed its greatest prosperity. To it, won by its quaint and pict- 
Paiacc uresque exterior, resorted Washington Irving; and in his story of 
admired by Dolph Heyliger in Bracebridge Hall it is described as the residence of 
Washington Herr Anthony Vanderhuyden. The weather-vane, representing a 
■" horse going at a tremendous speed, was taken by Irving to adorn a 
turret of the doorway at Sunnyside, his home on the Hudson, where 
in all probability the quaint relic remains at the present time. 
Demolition The lovely old Vanderhuyden Palace was demolished in 1833 to 
o/ Vander- make way for the First Baptist Church. The site is now occupied by 
huyden ^]^g Albany Savings Bank. Jacob Vanderhuyden was for several years 
^ "^ a director of the Bank of Albany. He held many public offices, and was 
in 1783 an assessor of the city. One of his sons (David) served in the 
War of 1812, and another (Derrick) became a well-known attorney. 

Vanderhuyden Palace, like a number of the historic landmarks al- 
ready mentioned, stood not far from the present Capitol Hill at the 
head of State Street. The site of the present Capitol was once known 
Pinkster Hill ^s Pinkster Hill. It was there in the eighteenth century that the famous 
Pinkster festivals were celebrated by the negroes of Albany. Though 
in other parts of the country these festivals were held, probably they 
were not so picturesque as those held at Albany, where, during 
the week in which they lasted, the negroes were given the freedom of the 
city and the right of spending days and nights in dancing, patronizing 

28 




VANDERHUYDEN PALACE 



From an old print 



A favorite resort of Washington Irving, who in his story of Dolph Heyliger in Bracebridge 

Hall describes this old landmark as the residence of Herr Anthony Vanderhuyden. Irving 

took the weather-vane shown in this print to Sunnyside, his home on the Hudson. 

Vanderhuyden Palace stood until its demolition in 1833 on North Pearl Street 

The site is now occupied by the Albany Savings Bank 



the gingerbread, cider, and apple-toddy booths, and in sports. " I re- 
member," says a writer in Harper's Magazine in 1859, "those gather- 
ings with delight, when old Charley, a darky of charcoal blackness, 
dressed in his gold-laced scarlet coat and yellow breeches, used to amuse 
all the people with his antics. I was a light boy, and on one occasion 
Charley took me on his shoulder and leaped a bar more than five feet 
in height. He was so generously ' treated ' because of his feat that he 
became gloriously drunk an hour afterward, and I led him home just 
at sunset. When I look into the State Capitol now, when the Legisla- 
ture is in session, and think of Congress Hall filled with lobbying poli- 
ticians, I sigh for the innocence at Pinkster Hill in the good old days 
of the Wooly Heads." 

Old Charley, whose uniform mentioned by the writer in Harper's 
had been inherited from a British officer, was king of the day; while 
Adam Blake, the personal body-servant of Patroon V^an Rensselaer, 
was master of ceremonies. It is said that Charley lived to be one hun- 
dred and twenty-five years old, and that he, like all of the African-born 
negroes who became famous leaders among their people, was born in 
Guinea. Charley was once, it has been seriously affirmed, a king in 
his own country. At the festival the worthy burghers assembled to 

29 



Old Colored 
Charley and 
h is antics 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Red 
African 
dances 



End of 
Pinkster 

festivals 



Corner-stone 

of Old 

Capitol 

laid 



A show-place 
of Albany 



see the sports and African dances of the blacks. The musical instru- 
ments were evidently of home manufacture, consisting of a sort of 
tomtom on which the performers pounded with their bare hands. Real 
African songs were sung. King Charley always led the dance. As 
time went on, the dances given by the blacks became so barbarously 
realistic that the white visitors shunned them, and the celebration of 
the festival itself became a nuisance. The Common Council of 
Albany in 1811 prohibited not only the building of booths on the 
hill, but also the dancing, drinking, and gaming; and, with these 
important features of the Pinkster festival taken away, the blacks 
gradually abandoned the celebration. In the early days — even as 
late as the Revolution — Pinkster Hill was the hill of punishment 
in Albany. Many executions were held there, among them those 
of the prisoners already mentioned, taken from the old Stadt Huys. 
The hill was especially noted for its many fresh-water springs, bub- 
bling here and there to the surface. 

Pinkster Hill, then, of varied and picturesque associations, was chosen 
as the site of the Capitol. The corner-stone of this edifice that has 
come down in history as the Old Capitol, and that occupied a site at 
the head of State Street in front of the present Capitol, was laid April 
23, 1806, by Philip Van Rensselaer, who was then mayor of the city. 

The Albany Daily Advertiser announces the event: "On Wednes- 
day, the 23rd of April, the corner-stone of the State House was laid 
by Hon. Philip S. Van Rensselaer, in the presence of the Chancellor, 
Judges of the Supreme Court, members of the Corporation, State House 
Commissioners and other citizens. The site on which this edifice is 
to be erected is at the head of State Street, on the west side of the public 
square. It is to be built of stone, one hundred feet by eighty, on an 
approved plan, embracing much elegance with great convenience and 
durability." 

The Old Capitol on its completion in 1808 became one of the show- 
places of Albany, and travellers from Europe and America visited it, 
and invariably commented on its elegance. Famous men frequented 
it, and among those who have had their official homes there have been 
Daniel D. Tompkins, De Witt Clinton, Martin Van Buren, William L. 
Marcy, William H. Seward, Silas Wright, Hamilton Fish, Washington 
Hunt, and Horatio Seymour. In its Senate and Assembly Chambers 
were initiated notable constitutional changes, the Erie Canal project, 
and the abolition of slavery in the State of New York. Commodore 
Oliver Hazard Perry, passing through Albany in November, 1812, on 
his way from Lake Erie, was received at the Old Capitol and there 
given the freedom of the city. In 1812, for the first time in the history 
of the United States, Governor Tompkins, because of alleged bribery 
in connection with the granting of a bank charter, prorogued the legis- 
lature for thirty days. The events that followed this " act of the rem- 
nant of royalty " were among the most tumultuous ever witnessed by 
the Old Capitol. 

30 




CAPITOL, ALBANY 



LoUection oj Jiimei II Mantling 



The Old Capitol stood at the head of State Street in front of the site of the present Capitol. 

On its completion more than a century ago, it became one of the show-places of Albany. 

Here many notable guests were received and many notable events occurred 

It may not be generally known that about 1823 a sun-dial adorned The sun-dial 
the southeast corner of the Old Capitol. This was the production of 
a man by the name of Ferguson, who attempted to reproduce the sun- 
dial pictured by a noted Scotchman of the day. In spite of the fact 
that the work was somewhat crude and never completed, Simon De 
Witt, who in 1823 was surveyor-general and a commissioner of the 
Capitol, liked the dial, and consented to have it placed near the Capi- 
tol. **At a meeting," says a report, " of the Common Council at the 
Capitol in the city of Albany on the 22nd of July, 1822, the com- 
mittee to whom was referred the resolution to ascertain the expense 
of setting up a Dial belonging to the Board, upon the public Square, 
report, that the same may be attached to a corner of the Capitol build- 
ing and the expense will be ^15." 

The dial was very much in evidence when Lafayette visited Albany, Lafayette 
in September, 1824. The general had not been in the city since he had visits 
established his headquarters in the Pruyn house on South Pearl Street. Albany 
Great preparations were made for the reception of the guest. General 
Solomon Van Rensselaer was chosen marshal of the day. Lafayette 
started from New York the morning of the 17th, and, after stopping at 
various points of interest on the trip up the Hudson, landed at six 
o'clock in the afternoon on the east side of the river, three miles below 
Albany. There he was met by the military, and escorted to his car- 

31 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 

riage by General Van Rensselaer. The chariot in which they rode 
was drawn by four white horses. With General Lafayette, besides 
General Van Rensselaer, was Stephen Lush, who had served in the 
Revolution. Lafayette was escorted up State Street to the Capitol, 
where he was presented to Ambrose Spencer, the mayor of the city, 
who, after addressing his guest, conducted him to the governor. A din- 
ner was afterward given at Congress Hall. While in Albany, Lafay- 
ette called at the home of General Stephen Van Rensselaer, where he 
spent some time with the widow of Colonel Philip Van Rensselaer. 
The lady asked General Lafayette if he remembered the time when he 
arrived at her home on his way to Schenectady, and what an excellent 
picture he made, although the day was one of the bitterest of the 
winter, of a dashing young officer, clad in regimental small-clothes with 
white stockings and shoes. Mrs. Van Rensselaer reminded Lafayette 
that she was then much concerned as to whether he would reach his 
destination without freezing, and that as a preventive she presented 
him with a pair of long, coarse woolen stockings, which she persuaded 
him to pull on over his shoes and white hose. The young officer did as 
he was bidden, and gayly rode away. Lafayette during his call 
acknowledged again his gratitude for the good lady's thought, and 
"JVarm confessed that the " warm woolen kousen " had been comfortable. 
woolen On the departure of Lafayette from Albany there was a great illumina- 
kousen ^jqj^^ Barrels of tar were consumed, and every house was ablaze with 
light. Albany had come forth to honor him and to escort him to his 
steamboat, — this great Frenchman, who twice more, ere he bade a final 
farewell to the city, was to visit it. 
En route to Lafayette's next visit occurred in June, 1825, in his sixty-seventh 
Bunker Hill year, when, accompanied by his son and secretary, he came to Albany 
en route to Boston, where he was to lay the corner-stone of Bunker 
Hill monument. Lafayette had visited many parts of the country 
since last he was the city's guest. He had wept at the tomb of Wash- 
ington, and he had joined in celebrating memorable occasions of the 
Gift of past. Congress had presented him with $200,000 and a township of 
Congress i^nd, considering it a privilege to do this as a partial recompense for 
the loss of personal fortune. Again the badges and long kid gloves — 
called " Lafayette kid-gloves " — were brought out and displayed, as 
they had been on the previous visit, when the grand ball had been 
given at the Capitol. At dawn the national salute rang over Albany, 
and bells pealed. Young and old came to wave farewell to Lafayette, 
who, escorted by the military with swords drawn, departed for the 
ferry. 
Lajayettfs The last visit of Lafayette occurred in July, 1825, when, on his 
last visit return from the Eastern States, he stopped here en route for New York. 
As before, Lafayette and his suite were lodged at Congress Hall. A 
Daniel dinner was given to him and his party in the hall of the Capitol at four 
JFebster's o'clock. Elias Kane presided. Among the guests was Daniel Webster, 
toast ^\^Q proposed the following toast: "The ancient and hospitable city 

32 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Fisit of 

President 

Millard 

Fillmore 



Visit of 

President 

Lincoln 



The first 
Northern 
soldier to 
die in the 
Civil War 



Death of 

President 

Lincoln 



The scales 

of Justice 

fall 



of Albany, — where General Lafayette found his headquarters in 1776, 
and where men of his principles find good quarters at all times." The 
toast given by General Lafayette was: "Albany as I have known it, 
and Albany as it is now, — a comparative standard between royal guar- 
dianship and the self-government of the people, — may this difference 
be more and more illustrated at home, and understood abroad." Later 
Lafayette attended the theatre, where he was the centre of attention; 
and at midnight he went aboard the steamboat Bolivar that took him 
down the Hudson as far as West Point. 

The remains of many noted men have lain in state at the Old Capi- 
tol. Colonel John Mills, who was in command of the volunteer regi- 
ment of 1812, and who died while leading his men in a charge at Sack- 
ett's Harbor the following year, was brought to Albany, and with full 
military rites buried in Capitol Park. 

Many noted guests have been received at the Old Capitol. 

President Millard Fillmore on May 22, 1851, arrived at three o'clock 
in Albany. He was escorted, between throngs of citizens waving flags, 
up State Street to the Capitol; and there he was received in the gover- 
nor's room, and afterward escorted to Congress Hall. A great dinner, 
at which the mayor of Albany presided, was given to the President. 

President Lincoln, on his arrival February 18, 1861, was met by the 
military and a delegation of citizens that passed up State Street. He 
was received in the hall of the Capitol, where he was addressed by 
Governor Morgan. During this visit, Lincoln won much devotion; and 
among those who were willing to give their lives to the cause of the 
North was Colonel Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth, who, returning with 
Lincoln to Washington, and there becoming intensely interested in af- 
fairs, came back in April to Albany and raised a regiment. In May of 
the same year he was in Alexandria, Virginia, where, seeing a Con- 
federate flag waving over the Marshall House, he started to take the 
emblem down, and was shot by the proprietor of the hotel. He was 
the first Northern soldier to die in the Civil War. On the arrival of 
Colonel Ellsworth's body in Albany it is said that one of the most im- 
pressive processions in the history of the city was formed. This passed 
up State Street to the Capitol, where the remains lay in state. 

More than four years passed; and, just as the smoke of the Civil War 
cleared away, news of the assassination of President Lincoln shocked 
the world. The remains of the loved President lay in state at the Old 
Capitol, April 26, 1865. Past his bier grief-stricken citizens filed. 
Nearly two decades were to pass before the demolition of the building. 
Through the entire period of its existence the statue of Justice, facing 
eastward on the dome, held in her right hand a sword and in her left 
a balance. Storms and winds had shaken her for many years, but it 
was not until just before she was finally removed from her lofty pin- 
nacle that a young newspaper man, going home on a rainy night in 
1880, heard something clatter at his feet, and, groping around in the 
dark for the object, discovered that the scales of Justice had fallen. 



34 




CONGRESS HALL 



CoUeclion o] Jama H. Manning, 



Old Congress Hall stood on a part of the site of the present Capitol. For more than half a cen- 
tury it was the famous rendezvous of noted men from America and Europe 



The sun-dial by the time the Old Capitol was demolished in 1883 had 
succumbed almost entirely to the elements, and was but a ragged rem- 
nant of its former design. So passed this great building, belonging to 
the first half of the last century. " Its historic value," it is said, " is 
hardly exceeded by the national edifice in Washington, and, as an emi- 
nent speaker says, perhaps the only infelicitous incident connected with 
the erection of the New Capitol is the fact that the old one must pass 
away." 

We stand on storied ground to-day. 

Judges and statesmen here have trod; 

And every foot of wall or sod 

Is fraught with memories of our lay. 

From verses composed just prior to the 
demolition of Congress Hall. 

For more than half a century, during a part of which Leverett Crut- 
tendon was " mine host on the hill," Congress Hall received noted 
guests from this country and Europe. Its history is very closely con- 
nected with that of the Old Capitol, its near neighbor. Congress Hall 
was built about 1814. Shortly after the erection of the row of buildings 
that eventually composed it on Capitol Hill, Matthew Gregory, former 
host of the Tontine Coffee House, retired from active life, and pur- 
chased as his home one of this row of new houses. The remaining 

35. 



Demolition 
of the Old 
dapitol 



Congress 
Hall 



Mine host 
fin the hill " 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 

houses on the north, at the corner of Park Place and Washington 
Avenue, he leased to Mr. Cruttendon, who at once (in 1814) opened 
them as a hotel, and named it the Park Place House. Mr. Cruttendon 
was " mine host " until 1831, when he became proprietor of the Eagle 
Hotel. Many interesting events occurred during the years when Mr. 
Cruttendon was at the Park Place House. Mr. Gregory was a neigh- 
bor, and this fact lent spice to the intervals when the notable guests 
had departed. Mr. Gregory, as has been said already, made his name, 
fame, and fortune at the Tontine Coffee House; and from the time 
that he purchased these houses on Capitol Hill he became a gentleman 
of leisure. He was fifty-seven years old when he retired, and he spent 
nearly thirty-five years in the house of his choice. 

During the time when Cruttendon reigned as host in Congress Hall, 
Lafayette was guest there. Mr. Cruttendon's successor was William 
Landon, who gave notice to the public that he would receive guests at 
his hotel, Congress Hall; and as such it has come down in history, 
Mr. Landon was eventually proprietor of the City Hotel and afterward 
of the American Hotel on State Street. His successor in 1848 was 
James L. Mitchell, and the last proprietor was Adam Blake, who 
bought all of " Gregory's Row " for the use of Congress Hall, which he 
kept from 1865 until the demolition of the buildings in 1878. It is of 
interest that, after abandoning Congress Hall, Mr. Blake became the 
first proprietor of the Kenmore Hotel. 
John It was in August of 1843 that the second man of national importance 
Qnincy gtood on the steps of Matthew Gregory's house and addressed the 
a ziiest throng of men and women that had gathered to pay him homage. This 
was ex-President John Quincy Adams, who on that day vindicated the 
right of petition, and paid in such beauty of language and conception 
of thought his tribute to the State of New York. 
Social life Old Congress Hall was the scene of many a social gathering; and 
an especially notable one occurred in the winter of 1852, when eleven 
women who had come from beautiful homes in other parts of the State, 
and who wished to show to their Albany friends appreciation of the 
entertainment they had received in the city, gave a party. Of course 
the hostelry was a favorite stopping-place for travellers en route to 
irell-known Saratoga. Jenny Lind had rooms at Congress Hall in August, 1851. 
guests Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian exile, was met and escorted to Congress 
Hall on his arrival in Albany, in May, 1852; and there he was ad- 
dressed by Governor Washington Hunt. It was during this visit that 
Kossuth made an address in the Third Presbyterian Church. Before 
leaving Albany, two thousand dollars had been given him to aid his 
people. The Prince of Wales, on his arrival in Albany in October, • 
1860, was escorted to Congress Hall with great solemnity; and crowds 
waited to pay him respect. He had the southern portion of Congress 
Hall next to the Old Capitol allotted to him, and a dinner was given 
to him the night of his arrival. 

Nor, while remembering noted guests and their mission, should the 

36 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 

thrilling moments in legislative history that have occurred in old Con- 
gress Hall be forgotten. Men lived there who served the State and the 
Nation, and who served the best interests of both. Midnight was 
often a wide-awake time there, when New York flashed messages over Anxious 
wires to men waiting to receive them. Some statesmen as they waited moments 
for the outcome of important issues were white and anxious, others 
cool. In an especially exciting moment, as Hamilton Fish stood at 
the desk of the telegraph-office, the operator said: " You take it very 
coolly, sir. When I told Mr. Greeley, he jumped over the stove-pipe." 

The space occupied by the old Hall was eventually needed for the Adam Blake 

new Capitol. The land was purchased; and Adam Blake, then the ^, -^ 

• r 1 TT 11 • 1 • 1 ? • A1 Consress 

proprietor oi the Hall, was given thirty days notice to vacate. Al- /{^jH 

though many had long known that this thing would come to pass, still 
a deep feeling of regret existed for the doom pronounced on the his- 
toric edifice. In May, 1878, at the time when the Congress Hall Bazaar 
was held, intended as a farewell party in honor of the old building, one 
who had known the Hall intimately for many years said: — 

"When the workmen come to tear down these walls, and remove t'an-zvellto 
these beams and take away these floors, it will be something else be- y^''^'"'^-^-^ 
sides grain and fibre that they will obliterate. The mortar and the 
wood is saturated with wit and wisdom. . . . The New Capitol 
will lean over its white granite to the debris of Congress Hall, and 
insist on hearing only its pleasant truths, as the great future arena of 
the majesty of the law. From 1814 to 1878, what histories of grave 
questions in the intricacies of nicely balanced authorities have these 
rooms written! The argument was of the Capitol, but the decision 
had its birth in the personal research of which this was the scene." 

Near the site of Congress Hall stands the Albany Boys' Academy. Albany 
It was at the Old Capitol that a meeting of citizens was called by the f^\ 
Common Council, January 25, 1813, for the discussion of the question ' '^ '^'"^^ 
of erecting and endowing such an institution. Many years prior to the 
meeting Mayor Philip S. Van Rensselaer, for the nearly twenty con- 
secutive years that he had been in office, had advocated a boys' acad- 
emy, but without definite action being taken in the matter. Probably 
Albany could not have so early endowed the academy, had it not been 
for Mayor Van Rensselaer. Even after his plan was accepted and a 
charter granted by the regents of the State of New York, money was 
given slowly. 

The site occupied by the academy is to-day one of the most pictur- 
esque in the city. At the time, however, when the trustees chose it 
from the two sites offered them, it was very much of a dump; and it 
was not until 1821, when the means were secured, that steps were 
taken to improve the property. The corner-stone was laid July 28, 
1815, and in the building above it, thirty years later, Joseph Henry 
demonstrated the practical use of the magnetic telegraph. Thomas C. 
Taylor, who designed the New York State National Bank, the State 
House, and the Old Capitol, was the architect. The academy, during 

37 



1^ 




X s 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



the two years that its building was being constructed, made its home 
farther down State Street, at the southwest corner of Lodge. Dr. T. 
Romeyn Beck, much respected and universally loved, who had won 
for himself distinction in the medical world by the publication in 1823 
of a work on medical jurisprudence, was the first master. Associated 
with him were Dr. Peter Bullion, Dr. Joseph Henry, and Dr. Philip 
Ten Eyck. Dr. Ten Eyck was a physician. He had charge of the 
department of mathematics and physics, and aided Dr. Henry in his 
scientific research work. He lived to a good old age, and knew every 
head-master of the academy. 

The most interesting event of the academy's history, and in fact an 
event of great importance in the history of Albany and in the world of 
science, was the discovery of the electric dynamo by Dr. Henry. Prob- 
ably nobody will ever know the number of days and nights of study 
that the discoverer devoted to his researches. From early years Joseph 
Henry was a student. He was an Albany boy, and was graduated from 
the academy when eighteen years old. After that he became a tutor 
in the family of the patroon; and, while acting in this capacity, he de- 
voted his nights to the study of mathematics and science, and by hard 
work fitted himself to read the Mecanique analytique. When very 
young, he discovered the principles upon which depends the manu- 
facture of artificial ice. 

Henry's laboratory at the academy, where in 1826 he was made pro- 
fessor of mathematics, was a basement room on the northeast corner. 
'' Here," said Dr. Henry Pitt Warren, the present head-master, in his 
address delivered on the one hundredth anniversary of the founding 
of the academy, " by day he experimented and taught, and on occa- 
sional evenings gave lectures freely to all interested in physics. He 
early became interested in the problem of electro-magnetism, and in 
the Academy building made the first rude dynamo. Faraday and 
Henry working on this problem, each independent of the other, made 
the same discovery at practically the same time. As Faraday made 
his announcement first, Henry, whose great soul was incapable of 
jealousy, heartily congratulated him, and the world called him the 
father of the dynamo. The power of Henry's dynamo, shown by con- 
ducting a current through miles of wire, was first exhibited in the room 
in the southwest corner of the Academy in the third story, now oc- 
cupied by the first form. There the bell was rung which ushered in 
the electrical age." 

" Henry," continued Dr. Warren, " made no effort to make practi- 
cal use of his discoveries, although all the commercial uses of elec- 
tricity depended upon the dynamo. He left that to the practical man. 
He carried into science the fine instincts of the physician, which makes 
him offer freely to the world his discoveries. He became professor of 
physics at Princeton, and later the secretary of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, where he worked unceasingly to make the great institution 
purely a centre of scientific investigation. From Franklin to Henry 
was but half a century." 

39 



Discovery of 
the electric 
dynamo 



Henry, the 
student 



His 

laboratory 



Centennial 
address by 
Dr. Warren 



Faraday and 
Henry make 
the same 
discovery 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Dr. Warren in his centennial address stated that twenty of the 
trustees of the Albany Boys' Academy had served more than twenty 
years and that ten had served more than thirty years. Thomas W. 
Olcott was a trustee for forty-four years, and was succeeded by his 
grandson, who served nearly twenty years. Among other noted men 
who have served on the board of trustees are Peter Gansevoort, Gen- 
eral John F. Rathbone, Abraham Lansing, and Dr. Thomas Hun. Dr. 
Hun's son, Dr. Henry Hun, succeeded his father as president of the 
board. The academy has a long list of distinguished graduates. 

The old academy building, surrounded by graceful elm-trees, stands 
to-day, near the present Capitol and the new Education Building, the 
former one of the most costly edifices devoted to purposes of state in 
this country, the latter unsurpassed by any building of its kind in 
America. The academy faces the Old State Hall across the park, a 
bit of soil worthy of mention among the historic neighbors of State 
Street. On the ground included in the park was ratified in 1788 the 
Constitution of the United States. The dedicatory exercises of the 
Dudley Observatory were held here in 1856, and on the same ground 
was held in 1864 the Grand Army Relief Bazaar. 

Unfortunately, Mayor Philip S. Van Rensselaer, who was influential 
in the establishment of the academy, did not live to see the progress 
beyond the first stages made by the institution, nor did Henry's in- 
vention come before Mayor Van Rensselaer's death, September 25, 
1824, at his home on the northeast corner of State and Chapel Streets. 
Mayor Van Rensselaer gave the larger part of his life to the service 
of the public. He was born at the Van Rensselaer manor-house, mar- 
ried Anne De Peyster Van Cortlandt, and was the grandson of Philip 
Livingston, the "signer." Mayor Van Rensselaer was for some years 
president of the Bank of Albany. 

Five years before the Boys' Academy was founded, Joel Munsell, 
the well-known printer of Albany, who, though pursuing a different 
vocation, gave the same impression of kindliness as Henry, was born 
in Northfield, Massachusetts. " To begin with, time out of mind, the 
autobiographer's first period, *I was born' on Monday, April 13, 
1808," . . . humorously wrote Mr. Munsell. "To prevent all future 
dispute, and that the place of my birth may not be made the subject of 
contention, I deem it necessary to mention that this little village is 
entitled to all the honor of that event. The fate of Homer should 
forewarn all geniuses to leave the place of their nativity on record." 

On coming to Albany, Joel Munsell established his printing-office 
in an old building at 60 State Street. In 1779 it had been the resi- 
dence of Governor Jay of New York, and, as years passed, came to 
be known as " Old Gable Hall." Here, on the site of the National 
Commercial Bank, Joel Munsell began his work, gathering chapter 
by chapter, as time went on, interesting historic matter concerning 
Albany, and publishing his Annals and Collections and various notable 
books by other writers. He was at heart a lover of the storied past. 

41 



Long periods 
served by 
trustees 



Xeighbors of 
the academy 



Historic 

: roil 11(1 



Death 
Mayor f an 
Rensselaer 




Joel Munsell, 
" prifi^er of 
Albanx " 



■ Old Gable 

Hall •• 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Cholera in 
Albanx 



Tar-barrels 

a reminder 

of " old 

Sodom" 



Last years 

of Joel 

Munsell 



Corner-stone 

of new 

Capitol laid 



Probably no descendant of the first settlers of Albany more appre- 
ciated the ancient landmarks of the city than did he. It seems to have 
been his fate during his entire life to do things because he loved to do 
them, regardless of the expense of the proceedings or the remunera- 
tion received for the work done. When De Witt Clinton died sud- 
denly at the Old Capitol, Munsell sat up all night, that he might pub- 
lish the news simultaneously with the morning papers. It was no 
unusual undertaking for him, incited by his keen interest in the subject, 
to begin an entirely new study. In 1828 he was learning Latin and 
studying science. Other years he assiduously collected data on vari- 
ous subjects. He was a profound student and an indefatigable clip- 
per of newspapers and magazines. It seems almost certain that he 
must have compiled scores of scrap-books. Of course he kept a journal. 

In the summer of 1832, when cholera visited Albany, Munsell re- 
cords in his journal: — 

"Monday, July g. Arose at five and went to the office [of the 
Argus]. Few people seen stirring — all frightened by the cholera, if 
not out of the city, at least into their houses. The streets look like Sun- 
day, and persons passing one another seem to avert their heads and 
suspend respiration as though they feared inhaling contagion. . . . 

"Tuesday, July lo. Arose at half past five, very much debilitated. 
Determined not to let my fears magnify a little bodily pain into cholera. 
At work till breakfast. Attempted work after breakfast, and had 
to give it up. Citizens commenced to burn tar to purify the atmos- 
phere, as though a few barrels of pitch could clear a boundless ele- 
ment of noxious particles floating in it. The city was several hours 
wrapped in a dense, black smoke, and must have looked very much 
like old Sodom. But few country people venture into the city, and if 
any were in to-day and witnessed the conflagration of tar and rosin. It 
is reasonable to suppose that their sojourn was considerably abbre- 
viated thereby. They are so wary that the few whose avarice is 
tempted by the high price of produce to risk themselves amid the 
scene of death and terror, manifest great complacency in their deal- 
ings and conclude their bargains with commendable brevity, and push 
home again with all convenient expedition. 22 cases. 8 deaths." 

Joel Munsell, "the Albany printer," was small in stature; and he 
has been described as having always a cheerful demeanor. He was 
quiet, and generally loved by all. His publications, though of great 
value to the student of Albany history, brought him no fortune; and, 
as the years passed, his purse, it is said, became more slender and the 
usually cheerful countenance grew grave, and toward the end of his 
life wore a wan look that told of care and toil. After a brief illness, 
he died on January 15, 1880. 

Mr. Munsell saw the laying of the corner-stone of the new Capitol 
at the head of State Street on August 7, 1869. He said, quoting the 
Times : " The first stone In the foundation of the new Capitol was laid 
with ceremony. Among the distinguished individuals present was His 

42 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 



Excellency Gov. John T. Hoffman, Hon. John V. L. Pruyn, several 
of the Capitol commissioners, John Bridgford, Esq., superintendent, 
and a large number of our prominent citizens. The stone was laid at 
the southeast corner of the grounds, by Hon. John V. L. Pruyn, 
who accompanied it with a few appropriate remarks. Haines, the pho- 
tographer, was present and took a photograph of the scene. Work- 
men are engaged in cutting and laying stone, and the most perfect 
machinery in the world for handling stone has been erected. . . , 
Upon laying the stone, Hon. John V. L. Pruyn, one of the Capi- Address oj 
tol commissioners, made the following remarks: 'The occasion which JohnV.L. 
has brought us together, marks an important event in the history of Pruyn 
our State. The legislature has authorized the erection on this site of 
the new Capitol, for the accommodation of the executive, the legisla- 
tive and the judicial departments of the government, the arrangement 
of which shall be commensurate with the wants of our great com- 
monwealth, and mark its power and prosperity. The commissioners 
appointed by law will, at the proper time, make arrangements for 
laying the corner-stone of the building with the ceremonies appro- 
priate to an occasion of so much interest. . , . Under these cir- 
cumstances and in behalf of the board of commissioners, I have been 
requested to lay, as I now do, in their name, this, the first foundation 
stone of the new Capitol of the State of New York. Here may wise 
laws be enacted. Here may purity and integrity of purpose always 
mark the action of executive power. Here may justice, the attribute 
of deity, be inflexibly administered, and may Almighty God bless the 
State and prosper the undertaking.' " 

It was at the present Capitol that the remains of Ulysses S. Grant, 
who had died at Mount McGregor, lay in state on August 4, 1885. 
Between long lines of troops and escorted by four thousand men, the 
body was borne up State Street to the Capitol. As the black car 
passed up the hill, a man waved from a window on State Street a tat- 
tered flag that had been torn in the service of the dead leader. " It 
was twenty years ago," he said to the crowd that gathered around 
him, " on the Fourth of July that the great General paid his first visit 
to Albany, and with this same flag I waved a welcome to him. In the 
full flush of success he came as the guest of the city and the State, 
riding up that same street through long lines of applauding specta- 
tors. The long lines of people are here to-day, just as they were 
twenty years ago, but the applause has turned to mourning, and the " Twenty 
grave figure on horseback has given place to the silent one in the coffin." years ago ' 
The body of General Grant was taken through the State Street 
entrance of the Capitol, and there the coffin rested on a bed of Ameri- 
can ffags. The following day the funeral train moved out of the sta- 
tion at Albany, and on its way to New York passed through a great 
storm while skirting the Hudson, vivid flashes of lightning illuminating 
the black-draped cars. 

To-day from Capitol Hill the statue of Phil Sheridan keeps watch 

43 



Death of 

General 

Grant 

Procession to 
the Okpitol 

A torn flag 



I'FrfrfrbpiiTfi' 




From a phologniph 

Sl'A'lE S'lREET, LOUklNG WESr FROM HUDSON RIVER, 1915 

Down State Street, after appropriate ceremonies on Capitol Hill, are marching this year, 1918, 
soldier-sons of Albany, mobilized for the defence of world freedom 



ALBANY'S HISTORIC STREET 

over the historic street, the story of which has been briefly told in this 
brochure. Sheridan was born in Albany; and, contrary to the gen- /Vn7 
erally expressed opinion that his family was on the way to another Skoidan 
part of the country at the time of his birth, Sheridan himself says in 
his Memoirs that his father and mother came from Ireland to Albany 
at the suggestion of his uncle, Thomas Gainor, and there intended to 
remain. " The prospects of gaining a livelihood in Albany," writes 
Sheridan, "' did not meet with the expectations which my parents had 
been led to entertain, so in 1832 they removed West, to establish 
themselves in Ohio." To-day, then, one of the greatest lives that Al- 
bany has given to the world, is commemorated in bronze on Capitol 
Hill, — a fitting statue for this historic ground and an inspiring adorn- 
ment to old State Street. Down this street, once an Indian trail, where 
later the good Dutch burghers smoked and dozed outside their quaint 
houses, where fortunes were made in furs, where treaties were solem- 
nized, where stirring events occurred, where great men born in the 
substantial early houses have lived, have marched leaders of the nation. 
Down this street, past the statue of General Sheridan move in increas- Tribute to the 
ing columns, on their way to make the world safe for Democracy, the memory of 
soldier-sons of Albany, paying tribute to the memory of Lafayette. Lafayette. 



£^^=.; 



This Bell first announced Independence in the 
City of Albany. It now hangs in the Tower of Saint 
Peier^s Church on State Street, where its Voice is heard only 
on the New Year. In Memory of the stirring Scenes of which it 
has been a part, in Memory of the Devotion of Albany to Right and 
Liberty, in Memory of the echoing Footsteps of Leaders Invin- 
cible that have passed through State Street, in Memory 
of Lafayette — may the silvery tones of this Inde- 
pendence Bell again ring in a fuller Liberty 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 108 386 7 



